Why are there 2 DADA teachers?
by Irken Invader
Summary: I've kind of lost all inspiration for this thing. Sorry. Maybe later
1. Chapter 1

Tada! Everyone does a Harry Potter/Fullmetal Alchemist crossover, so now it's my turn. Set in 3rd Harry Potter book, haven't decided where in Fullmetal Alchemist yet. I read almost all of the manga so far, but I never finished the anime, despite being a huge fan, so bare with me. Anyway, if I had a million dollars, I would buy the rights to both, (maybe just Fullmetal Alchemist) but by the mere fact that I'm not already a millionaire, I think it's pretty obvious I own neither. Please don't sue me. Comment however you feel, I don't care, just comment. But don't be too harsh. I do have feelings. If I break down into tears, and they work their way into my keyboard, my computer might fry. O.k Go!

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Head down, hands in pockets, and a scowl on his face, the boy paced down the dark street, taking out his aggression on a small rock that he kicked as he went along, sending it flying

anew with every step where he reached it again. One particularly vicious strike, an exclamation point on his mumbled curses, sent his stone clattering to a halt in a pool of light cast by

a solitary streetlamp. The boy stopped and stared at the stone for a long time, but his mind was obviously concentrating on things many miles away. Finally, his shoulders slumped and

he let out a long sigh. "Well, it's not like I can do anything about it. Orders are orders. And besides, the intelligence report Mustang gave me promised a large library. Granted, no

where near as big as Central's, but for the most part filled with books Central doesn't have. Although there's a 99% chance that this needlessly long and utterly pointless mission is a

complete waste of my time, if there is even that 1% chance that along the way I can find what I have been searching for for so long…it will be all worth it." Allowing himself to smile

now, and noting that there was no reason to keep out of sight if no one else was out at this time of night to see him anyway, the boy gave a little dash forward into the little circle and

gave the rock one final kick, and watched it soar out in a wide arc out of the light and into some vague shapes that could be bushes if he squinted.

Startled, he took a step back when instead of the whack he expected to hear, there came instead a dull thump followed almost immediately by a yelp of pain. He took another step

back, then another when he saw what it was he hit. Rearing out of the shadows, a huge black animal shape, and looking absolutely nothing like anything you'd expect to see on the

outskirts of rural England. Stepping out of the light entirely, he crouched down and readied his blade. "…Envy?...no, it's definitely a genuine animal…hell only knows what…wait…is

that?...is that a DOG?" It was indeed a dog. The biggest, blackest, dirtiest, starved, and insane looking dog he had ever seen. 'I doubt even Al could love this mutt…although it is Al…but

he was always more of a cat person.' 'It's probably a stray…' He thought, taking in the matted fur, and clearly visible ribs. He made a move as if to retract his blade, but thought better

of it after eyeing the sharp yellow teeth, and merely lowered it cautiously to his side. Strangely, the dog's eyes followed his movements and stared at his arm in open curiosity.

However, the dog was also very skittish, (no, maybe wary was a better word for it) and gave off the feeling that it was in a hurry, had a long way still to go and not much time left to

get there. Although it clearly wanted to stay and investigate the boy further, the dog shifted repeatedly from paw to paw, looking back behind it many times, and after giving him one

last long stare, one that seemed to say 'I'll won't forget this meeting, and we will cross paths again' turned and dashed off in the direction from which it had emerged. It disappeared

from sight almost immediately, its color blending in perfectly with the shadows. The boy waited a moment to guarantee that the potentially dangerous animal wasn't returning, and

reluctantly sheaved his blade. "Damn weird animal." He commented, staring off in frustration and confusion at what had just happened. Still, regardless of strange encounters, he too

had a destination to reach before the end of night. And so, the alchemist immediately set off to find the bus stop. No buses should have been running at this time of night, but then

again, this was no ordinary bus, and would be waiting nonetheless.

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Harry Potter, the boy who had become a household name merely by being alive, stared in horror at the sight before him. Only moments before he had stormed out of his aunt and

uncle's house (after inflating his uncle's sister like a balloon) taking nothing with him but an empty birdcage, a broomstick, a chest of schoolbooks, and the clothes on his back. Now,

absolutely alone in the world, with no money, no means of communication (Hedwig was on a delivery, and everyone knows wizards don't use cell phones, or phones at all for that

matter), and most importantly, no witnesses, he was about to be eaten by what was either a giant black demon dog, or a small black rabid bear.

Taking a step backward and throwing his hands up in front of his face, Harry tripped over his trunk and landed in the curb, mind registering a loud BANG and bright lights with just

enough time to pull himself out of the way before he was run over by the bus. The violently purple triple decker bus's door opened and a voice called down "Welcome to the Knight Bus:

transport for the stranded witch or wizard. ... Soooo, you getting on or not? And why you down there?"

Still in shock from almost being killed twice in a matter of seconds, he noted that at least the dog-beast was nowhere in sight now. 'The bus must have scared it off.' Picking up his bags

and climbing up the stairs, he replied rather annoyed, "I didn't mean to fall over. Can you take me to Diagon Alley in London?" The conductor nodded. "Sure can. Hear that Ern?" The

driver nodded, and Harry was jolted backwards onto a bed as the bus quickly set into motion again. It was only then that he noticed that rather than seats, the bus was packed with

beds that shifted dangerously around the floor every time the bus slowed down, sped up, or turned a corner. Harry decided to take his chances with the bed he had landed on, rather

than to take his chances with getting crushed to death trying to navigate to a bigger or more comfortable one farther back. He settled down for the trip. Shortly, the teenage

conductor, Stan, pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet to read, and the young wizard was horrified to see that he recognized the screaming face on the cover.

"But that's the escaped criminal who was on the muggle news!" Stan looked smug and amused. "'Course it is. You don't read much, do you? That's Sirius Black, that is. Insane. Put

away in Azkaban 12 years ago for killing 13 people with a single curse. 1 wizard and 12 muggles in broad daylight, and blowing up the entire street with them! Lots of trouble he

caused. When the aurors came to take him away, he went all willing and calm-like, but was laughing the whole time. Utterly mad." Then he grinned wickedly and leaned closer. "The

first man to EVER escape Azkaban, and the guards are furious. But I'm not surprised. They say he was one of You-Know-Who's strongest supporters, his 2nd in command. You-Know-

Who's fall was Black's fall too. And now that he's free, I think it's safe to say we all know what he's gonna do. Get his revenge. On Harry Potter." Harry gulped. Stan leaned back again,

smiling, and straightened out his newspaper with a satisfactory snap. "Hey, what was your name again?" "Uh…Neville Longbottom." "Well, why don't you relax a bit, Neville. We still

have a few stops to make before we reach yours." Harry nodded and lay back to think. After a while, he got to staring at his surroundings, and taking a deep breathe, finally got up the

nerve to ask Stan another question. "Who's that?"

He jerked his thumb toward someone who just might have been the most interesting person on board. The passenger was certainly the most noticeable. For one thing, unlike the

other members of the magical community dressed in their pajamas and tucked under their covers to catch a bit of sleep before they arrived, this person was fully dressed and was

sprawled asleep across the top of the bed. His dress was particularly odd, not even wizard's robes. He wore all black under a red traveling cloak adorned with a strange symbol of a

winged and crowned snake coiled around a cross on the back. Pristine white gloves covered his hands, black combat boots dropped mud onto his sheets, and a silver pocket watch on

a chain had slipped from his pocket and now hung at his side. He wore his long blonde hair in a braid. However, the thing that caught Harry's attention the most was the fact that he

was the only person aboard the bus around Harry's own age, give or take a few years. All in all, he was the most singularly strange person Harry had ever seen.

Stan craned his neck to see without moving from his spot who Harry was indicating. "Can't rightly say, 'cause I don't rightly know. He's one odd customer, all right. Normally, the type

we pick up are them magic folks who, like yourself, find themselves in urgent need of getting away to somewhere where they're not, but haven't got the means to do so. So they flag

us down, and we take them there. Keep this between ourselves, but in this case, lately we gets an official looking letter politely commanding us to pick up a specified to-remain-secret-

to-us person, at a specified location, at a specified date and time. And that's where Mr. Mystery over there joined our ranks. It was awful strange though. When we first pulled up and

saw him standing there alone, he was the only one it could have been. But even though we was pulled up directly in front of him, he didn't even seem to see us until Ern here honked. I

was worried we'd picked up a muggle by accident. But he had the watch, just like the letter said he would."

Both watched the boy no one seemed to know anything about, or at least anyone willing to say what they did know. The watch swung gently back and forth on its chain, like a

hypnotist's pendulum, glittering in the light. Both jumped when the boy turned over, muttering something unintelligible under his breathe. Stan brightened up. "There! That proves it!

Completely different language. He's a foreigner! Must be the squib son of some important wizard diplomat, that's mmy guess!" "I don't think him mumbling constitutes your theory…"

Harry added weakly, but Stan didn't seem to hear, humming happily.

Harry continued to watch the sleeping boy in open fascination until he was flung toward the front of the bus again when it hit the brakes hard and skidded to a halt in front of the

familiar sign of the Leaky Caldron. "Here's your stop, Mr. Longbottom. Watch your step." The driver spoke. "Better be getting off." Harry grabbed his luggage, but stopped at the

doorway when he saw the figure waiting outside the pub, who had stepped forward as the doors opened. Cornelius Fudge. 'Uh oh.'

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'This is not good.' Harry thought. 'He must have known I'd be coming here, and now is going to grab me for blowing up my aunt. I'd be lucky to be expelled after this! I could be sent to

jail! …Oh well. I'm stuck. I have to face my fate. It's not like I really believed I could get away with this crazy plan anyway. It's not like I even had a plan…' Taking a deep breathe, Harry

stepped down, and was surprised to discover that Fudge was just as surprised to see him as Harry was to see Fudge.

"Oh! Harry! You caught the Knight Bus? Quick thinking! Good work! We were worried about you, but I am rather relieved I shall now be able to tell the others you are safe and sound.

Don't worry about your Aunt. We all have our little episodes from time to time, no harm done. She's fine, and her memory adjusted of course, although I'm afraid your Aunt and Uncle

are not at all willing to have you back anytime in the next few weeks, so why don't you stay here at the inn until the school term begins? Your owl has already arrived… Rather smart

bird…I hope I don't seem rude, but I am supposed to be meeting someone…" Although his attention was solely focused on Harry at the beginning of the conversation, very quickly he

became distracted and kept trying to peer over Harry's shoulder, his sentences trailing off until he remembered he was in a conversation. Finally he pushed passed the young wizard

and called up "Ernie? Is the Elric boy aboard?" "Hmmm? Oh, you mean the mystery kid? Yeah, hold on. Let me wake him."

A moment later, the blonde boy appeared in the doorway, stifling a yawn and dragging a large briefcase that Harry assumed to be his luggage. He couldn't help noticing how short the

other was. The boy hurried down the last few steps, patted himself down until his hands grasped the dangling pocket watch and quickly shoved it back deep into his pockets, and then

ran up to meet the Minister and of all things saluted. The Minister smiled a wide grin of relief. "No need for that. I'm so glad you found your way here safely." Placing his arm over the

younger's shoulders, which was uncomfortably shifted off, the two walked away, deep in low voiced conversation. Harry could only watch them walk away, now even deeper intrigued

by who the boy was, and disappointed by the fact he would probably never get the chance to find out. "So long, Neville!" Stan waved one last time, and then the doors closed, and the

purple monstrosity on wheels sped away.

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I'll do at least one more chapter before I sit and stubbornly wait for reviews, so there.


	2. Chapter 2

Tada! I had originally intended to write this story more from Ed's perspective than Harry's, but since I'm re-reading The Prisoner of Azkaban, it just is easier this way. Anyway, blah blah blah don't own either of these titles yadda yadda yadda enjoy. P.S there is some of the obligatory emo-ness down there somewhere. Enjoy nonetheless!

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It had been a wonderful three long weeks now, spent wandering aimlessly in exploration among the many strange and exciting magical shops that lined Diagon Alley. And Harry had

completely forgotten about the strange boy aboard the bus. Despite actually enjoying his summer vacation for the first time, Harry could still not help but feel excitement as the days

until the new school term began drew near, especially as it was during these days that he was reunited with his best friends Ron and Hermione, and was introduced to Hermione's ugly

new cat Crookshanks (who did not get along well at all with Ron's second-hand rat Scabbers).

All the adults seemed determined to keep Harry from learning anything about Sirius Black or his agendas, not knowing that Harry already knew of the danger he was in, no thanks to a

certain bus conductor with a loose tongue. Even so, Harry didn't mind, and wasn't even all that concerned. 'After all,' He thought. 'The safest place to be in the entire magical world is

surely wherever Dumbledore is. Even Voldemort himself feared him, so why wouldn't his 2nd-in command?' So, Harry spent his days carefree and enjoying himself immensely.

On that fateful day of the beginning of school once again, Harry found himself being driven to the station in one of the Ministry's own cars, and then being hurried onto the train, but

not before being given the mysterious message "Don't go looking for Black." It was while pondering the implications behind why he needed to be told this that the 'golden trio' boarded

the train only to realize that there were no empty compartments left. After several minutes of fruitless searching, Hermione finally said "Well, we shall just have to settle for the LEAST

full one then. I just hope we don't have to split up." A girl in the compartment they had most recently checked told them that the compartment on the very end had only two

passengers. They were, as she put it "very weird", which was why she herself had gone to find somewhere else to sit. But at this point, she added, if they wanted to stay together, it

would really be the only place left with enough room. Thanking the girl, who looked to be a hufflepuff, they hurried down. Just as the girl had said, there was still plenty of room, but

also just as she said, the two people already inside made the atmosphere in the cabin a little awkward as the three students slipped in through the door. This was despite, or perhaps

even more so, because both of them were sound asleep.

The first was a man none of them had seen before. He was rather shabbily dressed, his hair streaked with grey although he couldn't have been any older than 30, and his robes were

patched in more places than even Ron's. The faded lettering on the cracked and battered leather case on the rack above his head proclaimed him to be Professor R. J. Lupin. None of

them had ever seen an adult on the train before, but then, they guiltily considered, the teachers would need a way to get to Hogwarts just as much as they did. He sat in the corner,

his head resting against the window as he slept.

The 2nd occupant did indeed appear to be a student, and as Harry was shocked to see, was none other than "I know him! Well, not know know him, but I've SEEN him! He was on the

Knight bus with me! And it was a secret! That he was on the bus, I mean. I think. And the Minister of Magic himself came to collect him! Said his name was…Elkrid? Something Elkrid. The

Minister said that. Not the boy. He was asleep the entire ride. And…and…what's he doing HERE?" To which Hermione promptly responded "Attending school. I should THINK that would

be obvious. And you're babbling again Harry. You mustn't make a habit of it." 'Attending Hogwarts? I guess that means he's not a squib after all.' Harry thought privately, ignoring the

second comment. All three silently stared at the boy, currently slumped across two seats on his own and looking exactly the same since Harry had last seen him. After a while Ron

voiced "Sure sleeps a lot then, huh? And really? Fudge himself?" "Yeah…" Harry responded slowly. "And don't ask me why, because I REALLY don't know." "Anyway," He said, sitting

down. "I don't think either of them is going to wake up anytime soon, so listen up. I need to tell you what I learned about Sirius Black." When the tale was over, both Ron and

Hermione were horrified, more than he had expected them to be, but he managed to get them to calm down. After all, Hogwarts was the safest place he could be.

Gradually the talk turned to quidditch, and the Hogsmeade trip and how Harry didn't have permission to go. The food cart rolled around. The two strangers slept on. There was a brief

scare when the blonde boy sat up and mumbled "Not that one, Alphonse. I already read it through 3 times, and there's no mention of it anywhere" and then lay back done again,

entirely asleep through the whole episode. Draco and his flunkies paid a brief visit, but left quickly when they noticed the teacher in the compartment. Time passes, the sky grew dark,

the lights flickered into life along the corridor, the rain thundered against the sides and windows of the train, and the air grew cold.

"Nothing wakes them up, huh?" Ron said, staring at the two other passengers, trying to lighten the now damp mood in the compartment. "Don't worry. We must be almost there by

now." Moments after he spoke the words the train began to slow down. "See, what'd I tell you!" "No! This can't be right! I KNOW we can't be there yet!" Hermione cried, jumping from

her seat. The train jolted to a stop, and the lights went out.

Ron wiped a patch clear on the fogged up glass of the windows, and tried to peer out through the driving rain. "There's…something out there. Why would they be picking up new

people here? Has this ever happened before?" The compartment door was flung open, and the real Neville fell through, followed by Ginny. "Ow! Sorry 'bout that. Do you know what's

going on?" "No, Neville." Hermione replied. Everyone tried to make room for the newcomers, but in the dark it wasn't easy. "Oof!" "Watch it!" "That was my hand!" "Sorry!" A new voice,

which Harry guessed could only belong to the boy with the silver pocket watch, gruffly complained under its breath. "Damn it all! I haven't even ARRIVED at this stupid job yet, and

already there's trouble that I'M probably going to have to fix. Now, what does this remind me of? You sure know how to pick 'em, eh Mustang?" Louder then "Will you get OFF me?!?!"

There was a thump as Neville hit the ground. "QUIET!" A hoarse voice said suddenly. Professor Lupin seemed to have finally woken up as well. There was a crackling noise, and the

cabin became illuminated as a small fire hovered in the palm of Lupin's hand. He brought the other up to his mouth, and pressing his finger to his lips, whispered "Stay here and don't

make a sound." But before he could even stand, the door slid open a crack.

Fingers curled around the edge of the doorframe, and slid it open a few more inches. Glistening black, almost skeletal, rotting and scabbed fingers. The door slid open the rest of the

wall at their pull. Then the fingers disappeared into the sleeve of a cloak, and its owner stepped into the doorway.

Towering over them all, it turned to look directly at Harry. Instantly, all warmth in the room seemed to disappear and he couldn't quite remember what joy was anymore. He felt as

though he were drowning, his vision began to go black, and a terrible scream sounded in his ears…but then the pressure lessened. The monster had paused, as if hearing, smelling,

SENSING something. And it turned to the blonde. He faced it with his fear disguised well, and slipped into a defensive position, but the creature kept coming. It knelt down in front of

the boy until the two were face to face, and through his still blurry vision Harry saw the boy's begin to pale. And then, the creature began to breathe in, a deep and long and

rattling breath. And Harry could only watch in horror as the boy seemed to fade a little more with every second that the thing dragged out the breath, sucking something visible from

him, and his eyes were so glazed, so dead, resigned to his fate while not even seeing it, looking at something far away. Lost in nightmares.

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It was happening again. All of it. Every last second of pain, every last sickening high of fear, every last drop of blood. Images flying through his mind so fast he could barely process

them: Nina, Scar, the Homunculi, his mother, so many others. At the same time, they went by so slow so as he could truly appreciate every horrible detail in all of its glory until the end

of time. And there was the overwhelming feeling, the overbearing certainty, the undeniable truth, that it was all his fault. He KNEW that they all blamed him, hated him for it. Hell, he

hated himself. Why deny it. And there, in the middle of it all, the endless white space and grasping black hands and impossible knowledge of the Gate. "What are you waiting for, Elric?"

The Truth asked, voice oozing triumph. "You always knew that one of these days after one of our little visits you wouldn't be coming back. You don't deserve life anyway. Not after the

things you've done, the deals you've made." It added thoughtfully, stretching out its arm, HIS arm, his flesh and blood arm, and beckoning him forward. "You're place is here. With me.

For all eternity." The black hands reached out for him, smothering, greedy, and hungry. He closed his eyes and felt them take him…Until he was blasted backwards and out of their

reach by a blinding force, burning so brightly he could see its image even behind his eyelids. It was enough to shock him out of the depression, and cause him to think "What the hell

was I about to do!" Just long enough to think this, before everything went a peaceful black, and he knew no more.

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"You have orders to harm NO ONE!" You are only to search for Sirius Black!" Lupin shouted angrily. The dementor ignored him and continued its feast. Harry watch in amazement then,

as the Professor whipped out his wand and growling a spell word, sent something large and shining a brilliant silver out of the tip of his wand and charging into the creature. The

dementor reared up, and quickly glided away. The boy went limp and slumped to the ground.

"Is he…is he o.k.? What was that?" a voiced asked. It was Ginny, peering out between her fingers and pressed up against the wall. The Professor bent down and picked up the still

unconscious boy and flung him over his shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Those…were the guards of Azkaban, hoping to find Sirius Black hiding aboard our train." Here he frowned.

"They make excellent guards, but only because their duties there suit their own needs. Letting them loose like this…they will follow their desires before any orders. Nothing good will

come of this, I promise you that." He stood silent a moment, deep in thought, before distractingly digging around in his pockets and pulling out an enormous slab of chocolate. "Here."

He said, tossing it to Ron. "All of you, eat a piece of this. It will help. Especially you, Harry Potter." He said, turning to the black haired boy, who wondered how he knew his name. "You

look faint." With those words he walked out, still carrying the dementor's victim. They all sat silently, munching the chocolate. Eventually the lights came back on and the train began to

move again, but no one really felt like talking anymore.

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Fin. So far. Definatley gonna do at least one more now. But then, i'm gonna need to see at least 5 reviews to have the heart to write anything more. I know at least SOMEONE is reading this, so hurray!!! In for the win!


	3. Chapter 3

Tada! Chapter 3! Wow. This took a lot longer than I thought it would, even though it moves really fast (forgive me for that. I wasn't really all that inspired for this chapter) Anyway, once again, I don't own any of the characters mentioned here. Ummm…also, I'm still kinda fuzy on why exactly Ed is at Hogwarts, so don't take any of this to heart. I might go and change it later if I can think of something better. And I still don't know where exactly in FMA this is set, and whether it's manga based or anime based, so I'm just gonna make this generic and say it can be either one. And it can be set in some generic timeframe after Hughes is killed. *sob* (I miss Hughes) Plus, i'm sorry about the paragraph form, but i don't know how to fix it! I'm sorry! I'll keep trying!

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Edward Elric regained consciousness to what was, even in the dim light, instantly recognizable as the inside of a carriage. 'Not a good sign when the last place I remember being was

on a train.' Sitting up, he instantly groaned and clutched his head, eyes tightly closed in an attempt to ward off the dizziness, which wasn't helped at all by the near constant jolting of

the carriage along the unpaved road. He groaned again, more in annoyance than pain this time, and murmured "This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? Scratch that.

Make it this entire month. Please, when I open my eyes, let me be back in Amestris." To his surprise, although he probably shouldn't have been, he heard in reply "I'm glad to see you

awake, although I'm afraid your wish hasn't been granted. We're in Scotland right now. Truth be told, I was getting a little worried when you hadn't woken up straight away." Ed

cracked one eye open, blinking away the black spots in his vision, and peered out through his fingers at the relieved smile on the face of the rather shabbily dressed man sitting on the

seat across from him. A flicker of recognition rose up from somewhere in his mind. "You're…huh; you're that man from the train."

*flashback*

The boy in the red coat stood in a rather inconspicuous section of the busy station, determinedly eyeing a certain pillar in-between platforms 9 and 10. The crowd flowed past, parting

around him to make a small island of open floor just wide enough for one person and his luggage. A few curious glances drifted toward him, but all in all, they were swept away like so

many leaves on a river, and Ed was paid no more attention to by the traffic of bodies than a river pays to a stone in its path. Every once and a while he would stare down at a piece of

paper clutched in the hand not carrying his suitcase. Once he pulled out his pocket watch and scowled at the time he saw, before placing it back in his pocket. Eventually he sighed and

picked up his suitcase, and pushed his way through to the divider.

He rapped his knuckles against it. 'I don't understand. It says to go through it, but…it's not like there's a doorway here! I can make my own, easy, but it would be too visible and I

was warned that the people here have never even heard of alchemy. I can't do anything that might give away who I am. So how am I supposed to get through! Maybe I shouldn't

have convinced that Minister to just leave me the directions and go on his way." A scowl on his face, he turned and slumped against the wall, and hit the ground with a thump when he

fell through to the other side. Standing up, he stared. "How did the divider get in front of me?" He turned. "How did all THIS get behind me?" Eager now to examine the pillar again to

discover how it worked, certain he would find something this time, he gave a guilty start when the train whistle shrilly blew, and with one last confused look back, ran off toward the

open doors of the train.

'Much nicer than I'm used to.' He thought, as he wandered down the corridor. 'Now let's find myself somewhere where I don't have to deal with any whiny students.' Opening the

door to the compartment at the far end of the train, he settled down to read through the folder containing the information relating to his mission for the 50th time. This time he pulled

out a pen, and began to scrawl little notes to himself, underline certain sections, and as he grew bored, drew little doodles along the sides of the paper. He probably wasn't supposed

to, but 'oh well.'

The train had pulled away just a short time ago now, and Ed was confident that if someone hadn't joined him by now, he would have the cabin to himself for the entire ride. Good.

Just as he thought this, he heard the door slide open. Not good. 'Don't acknowledge that anyone entered. Maybe they'll leave.' No such luck. "Do you mind if I sit here?" Sigh. "Knock

yourself out." "I'm…I'm sorry? What did you say? I don't think there was any call for that!" Sigh again. "It means 'go ahead.'" "Oh, I'm not quite up to date with slang." "I can tell."

There was a long awkward moment of silence, in which Edward continued to read, and could hear the new passenger settling down into the seat opposite. "Will this be your first year

here?" "Yes, and hopefully my last." "…I'm sure it won't be that bad." "Do you mind? I'm a little busy here." Another silence. "That really isn't any way for a student to talk to a teacher."

"Good thing I'm not a student." Shocked silence. After that Edward was left alone. Eventually he finished reading the reports and finally looked other at the man he had been speaking

to earlier. He was older than Ed, but not very old by many people's standards. Perhaps late twenties. Despite this, his brown hair was streaked with grey. He had fallen asleep. 'Not a

bad idea.' Ed yawned. He had been up late the night previously. Tucking the papers back into his case, he settled down to nap.

*end flashback*

"Ohhh. Sorry about that." Ed said sheepishly. "I wasn't really in the greatest of moods right then." The man looked confused for a moment, and then realized what the alchemist

was referring to. "No, no, that's fine." Extending a hand, he added "My name is Remus." Shaking hands, Ed's eyes began to drift around the carriage until they landed on the suitcase.

'R.J. Lupin' the lettering proclaimed. Edward's mind made the connection. "Lupin? You're Lupin? You're my partner for this mission?" Remus looked just as shocked. "You're Major Elric?

But you're so young!" Edward scowled at that. "Just call me Ed. And yeah, I'm the youngest State Alchemist in history. Joined the military when I was 12. I'm 16 now." His now

identified partner looked a little disturbed at this new information. Ed misinterpreted the look, and so added "And don't worry. I'm just as capable and experienced as any other

Alchemist employed by the State, if not more so. So you don't have to worry about me dragging you down in any dangerous situation." He broke eye contact, ashamed as he suddenly

remembered what else had happened on the train. "You…You'll have to tell me everything you know about that…thing on the train, so I'll be ready for it next time." Lupin gave a grim

smile. "Being unmagical, you can't learn the only protection against it. But don't worry yourself; I never doubted your abilities. After all, that's what you're here for, isn't it? To help me

teach these students how to protect themselves. And you couldn't very well do that unless you could take care of yourself, now could you." Ed gave a short smile back. But the smile

was only on the surface. He thought to himself 'Yeah, that's what I'm here to do, but it's only part of it. They probably expected that. But I still don't like it.'

*flashback*

The file hit the desk, and the momentum carried it down until it nudged the younger man's gloved hand. He picked it up, scowling, but flipping through it nonetheless. The raven

haired man seated on the opposite side of the desk leaned forward to speak.

"Don't be so shocked, Fullmetal. This is politics, after all. It hasn't been long at all since that hot air balloon touched down in the Amestrian countryside. We confront our lost little

wizard, compare maps, and discover whole new oceans; entire continents that neither side knew existed until now. The world is suddenly a whole lot bigger on both maps. Our

relations with Britain are fragile, even more so our relations with their so called 'magic' community. We want to keep these relations that we do have friendly. And what is a better

show of good faith than sending one of Amestris's finest to help them in their own war?"

"Don't look like that; you won't be fighting on a battlefield. As far as I understand, you'll be assisting in teaching a combat class in one of their larger academies." The blonde

alchemist continued to scowl. "Magic. I still don't believe it. Well, why are you sending me? Send Armstrong instead." A smug smile appeared on the face of his superior officer, and he

shook his head. "You know I can't do that, Fullmetal. You see, there is another reason. If our relations turn sour, or more likely, if the Fuhrer changes his mind, we need to know what

we're going up against. As much as I hate to admit it, we know next to nothing about these people, and more importantly their war tactics. It won't be spying, per say. See, they will

likely want to know more about us, as well. A sort of mutual cultural learning experience, if you will. I only ask that you get more information than you give. I will require a weekly

report, in code of course, of any helpful tidbits you happen to pick up. And it wouldn't hurt to try to put yourself in the way of helpful tidbits, even if not by the ordinary means." "And

what if I get caught listening at doors for you?" "That's the beauty of it, Fullmetal! You won't! As young as you are, no one would suspect you of spying. And if you do get caught…well,

you happen to have a habit of getting yourself into trouble. I just assumed that by now you would be equally handy at getting yourself out of it." A few pages rustled as the young

alchemist flipped through the pages a second time, giving them a slightly more thorough look over. "I'm still not liking this, Mustang. What's this part mean by 'alone.' Are you saying I

can't bring Al with me?" Mustang frowned. "Of course not. He's too noticeable. Even around here a suit of armor draws unwanted attention. Imagine the scene if you brought him to

this foreign school! You know the consequences if someone were to uncover his, and your, secret." He waited for the explosion, but it never came. Surprisingly, Ed had accepted this,

even if he was clearly not happy about it. The colonel took a deep breathe, and continued in a less stern tone of voice. "All politics aside, I'm doing this for you, Edward. They have a

large library there, and we've heard rumors of a man named Nicolas Flamel. He supposedly created a working stone. It's a real lead, and it's a chance for you to study it in safety. Your

last encounter with Scar…came a little too close for all of us." Ed snorted. There came a long angry silence, but at last he stood, red coat swirling around him. "Alright. I'll do it. When do

I leave?"

*end flashback*

The carriage finally jerked to a halt. Lupin poked his head out of the window. "We're here." He said, pulling it back in, and twisting around trying to remember where he had placed

his luggage. Both stepped down out of the carriage, and Lupin politely waited as Ed stretched out his arms. When he had worked most of the stiffness out of his joints, he picked up

his suitcase and said, "Well, let's see what all this fuss has been about." So he took a step forward, and stopped to stare in shock at the towering castle in front of him. Lupin smile a

genuine smile this time. "Welcome to Hogwarts. Ready to go inside?" "Yeah, I guess so." He went to give the horse pulling the carriage a pat, and pulled his hand back in shock. "I

thought all you people had never heard of alchemy before? Whose been manufacturing these chimeras?" The professor's smile turned sad once again. "I guess I should stop being

surprised. They're not chimeras though. They're called thestrals. Let's move along. Don't want to be late to the opening feast."

----------

"Have you seen that blonde student from the train yet?" Hermione whispered to Harry. "No, not yet. I've been looking at all the tables and haven't seen him anywhere. And he

wasn't with the first years that came in either." He whispered back. "Oh, I do hope he's o.k. He must be in the infirmary. Look, there's Professor Lupin. Let's ask him when the feast is

done." Harry nodded, and looked up. Yes, there at the high table sat the new Professor. Hagrid was seated two chairs away and was leaning across the chair between them in order

to talk to Lupin, but from this distance Harry had no idea what they were conversing about. "Shush, you two! Headmaster Dumbledore is about to speak!" Another Gryffindor

whispered. Harry respectfully grew quiet.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! As always, I have a few important announcements to make before we begin the feast." Here he cleared his

throat. "As you will have all noticed, Hogwarts is playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." A pause. "They are stationed at every

entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us I must make it clear that no one is to leave the school grounds without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks and

disguises, or even invisibility cloaks." Ron glanced at Harry's red face and commented "Is it just me, or was he staring at us when he said that?" Dumbledore continued. "It is not in the

nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses, so I warn you to give them no reason to harm you." The headmaster stern look disappeared and was replaced with a smile

as he added "On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome three new teachers to our ranks this year!" At this news everyone began muttering among themselves in confusion.

"Three?" Ron exclaimed. "But shouldn't the only position open be the DADA teacher?" At that moment Hagrid seemed to realize that his conversation wasn't taking place at the

opportune time, and he broke off talking to Lupin and settled back in his seat, revealing in the chair between the two a boy with his blonde hair in a braid, looking bored.

"Look!" Harry shouted, the first to notice. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny all gasped. "But how? He doesn't look older than a bloody first year! What's he doing up there at the

staff table?" Ron exclaimed rather louder than necessary. Dumbledore continued, heedless of the shouts at the Gryffindor table. "First Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill

the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts." "Next, our own Rubeus Hagrid will be replacing the recently retired Professor Kettleburn as the instructor in Care for Magical Creatures in

addition to his grounds keeping duties." "Good for you, Hagrid!" Harry shouted. "Lastly, you all will have noticed the young man seated at our staff table, and I assure you, despite his

young age, he is not what he appears. I introduce to you Major Elric, our prestigious guest from the country of Amestris." Dumbledore seemed amused at the awed chorus of whispers

that instantly filled the hall. Raising his voice, he added "Although he has no magic, Professor Elric is an extremely skilled State Alchemist, and will be assisting Professor Lupin in

Defense Against the Dark Arts." Again waiting for the talk after this announcement to die down, he added "Now let's eat!"

The feast was delicious, with every food anyone could have wanted available in large helpings. Noise of laughter, the clatter of silverware, and catching up with friends filled the hall,

although it seemed most of the talk centered around the new teachers, and then mostly one in particular. "I think it's all a hoax." "Amestris! Can you believe it!" "What's an alchemist

anyway?" and other exclamations could be heard repeatedly coming from all directions throughout the dinner. When at long last, all the food and dishes were cleared away, and

Dumbledore had released everyone off to bed, the trio set off towards the staff table. By the time they had reached it, both the new DADA teachers had gone, but there was still Hagrid

to congratulate. And later, when they had walked through the picture frame, across the common room , and up to bed, despite the craziness of the day, Harry could still only feel joy at

finally feeling home.

There yah go. Enjoy. Did you notice the balloon? Wizard in a hot air balloon? Ha ha ha ha ha. Wizard of Oz. Sorry, but I had to do that.


	4. Chapter 4

Tada!!!!! Sorry that took so long, but school has been sooooooooooo busy, and I need all my time to study for the AP World History Exam *Doom* Anyway, OMG I never expected to have more than like, 3 people reading this, so I'm so happy about how many people are reading it. Wootness! Here it is.

__________

The brightly lit great hall receded into the gloom behind them. The roar of voices, punctuated occasionally by a high clear laugh or shout, became a distant rumbling until the only sound

was the crack of their feet against the stone floor. In the empty hallways, the sound seemed magnified and intrusive. Eventually Lupin broke the silence and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry

to have dragged you away from the feast so early, but no one will miss us. It's important that I show you around the castle. Normally teachers arrive a week or so before classes begin,

but seeing as we both arrived with the students…anyway, I'll just have to give you the tour now, while the hallways are still empty." Made sense, but Ed was a little worried to hear Lupin

muttering something like "Was the next turn here? I thought I remembered my way around from when I went to school here, but this doesn't look…aha!" And so they went, Lupin

motioning to doorways and supplying the name or purpose of the room beyond. Ed followed, doing his best to memorize the way and trying to shake the feeling that the paintings were

watching him.

Navigating the staircases took quite a bit of time. The moving stairs of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry resemble the busiest airport you have ever been in, but without an

incoming and outgoing flight schedule, in that they can take you almost anywhere in the school you want to go, but you'll have a hell of a time finding which one your supposed to take

before it leaves without you. Eventually the two came to a stop in front of another classroom door. "So this is it, then?" "Yes, this is the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Let's

have a look inside, shall we?"

The room was rather dusty. It seemed as if no one had even entered the room since the previous year. Lupin tutted under his breathe, muttering that he would need to speak to

someone named Filch about this, and made his way over to open the windows and let fresh air in. Ed wandered, brushing his fingers over the desks and various objects that must have

been left by careless students. He flipped through an abandoned textbook, apparently found something interesting, and carried it under his arm to the teacher's desk at the front of the

room. He dropped it with a plunk onto the surface of the desk, and began opening drawers. Lupin coughed nervously, and took a step forward. "Elric. May I ask you something? Well, it's

not so much a question as it is a request." Ed looked up and gave a nod, coming around to the front of the desk and leaning against it. "Could you demonstrate your alchemy to me? No

one here is exactly sure what it can do. The art died out in our part of the world with its practitioners many centuries ago, and even then I suppose it was a different form than that of

what your people developed." Edward smiled. "Is that all? Of course I can. What do you want me to do? Anything at all?" He turned to face the desk and drew a transmutation circle with

a finger through the layer of dust covering it. 'No need to let them know that I don't need a circle.' He dropped a glass paperweight he had found in the desk into the circle, and clapping

his hands, placed them down the edge of the circle he had drawn. A small blue crackle of electricity later, and in its place stood a small black glass statuette of a rearing thestral. He

picked it up, and smiled wider. "They're rather beautiful, in their own twisted grotesque sort of way, don't you think? Here." With that he tossed it toward the older man, who only just

managed to catch it. After admiring it for a moment, he placed it back onto the desk. "Can you only turn things into other things?" "In a way yes, in another, no. It really all depends on

the alchemist's specialty. My superior officer, Mustang? He can make flames, as big or as little as he wants, just by snapping his fingers. But why don't you tell me what these old

alchemists of yours did." Lupin walked over and sat down next to the boy. "Well, I don't really know much about them, but they really only had two main goals. Their reasons for

existence, you could say. The first was finding a way to turn mercury into gold. Never actually managed that, I'm afraid, or we'd all be the richer, and have never given up on alchemy

either, I would think." He added with a laugh. Ed looked a little smug. "Oh, turning things into gold is simple enough. Any accomplished alchemist can do that, myself included. Doesn't

even have to be mercury. Any element will do, really. But it's illegal, and not really all that beneficial of an enterprise. The more gold around, the less it's worth. That alone isn't always

enough to deter people, but if you're caught at it, the penalty is death." (Note: probably not true, but for this story's sake it is) The blonde shrugged. "'Course, if you really need it, no one

is gonna notice just a coin or two." He added, smiling wickedly. "Now, about the second thing." Lupin, a little shocked at this revelation about his companion's ready access to gold,

continued nonetheless. "Well, the other was an elixir, I think…if you drank it…or was it a stone? Yes, it was called the philosopher's stone. It was supposed to give its creator eternal life."

The alchemist's initial reaction to the mention of the stone did not go unnoticed, but he hid the emotion before Lupin could actually discern what it was. When he asked his next question,

he was noticeably interested, but it came off more as casual interest than Lupin guessed it really was. "So, did they ever successfully create a stone?" There was a pause that seemed

longer than it really was. "There were rumors…but I really couldn't tell you anymore than that." The blonde nodded and seemed to accept his ignorance on the subject. "Well, we're done

here, aren't we? And I think the students are starting to leave the great hall. Can you show me where we'll be sleeping? And the library, as well?" "Of course. I'll point out the teacher's

lounge as well. That will have covered most of the castle. We can do the grounds tomorrow before we go over lesson plans." But as they were leaving, Ed privately thought to himself

"Rumors of the philosopher's stone? Here?…can't tell me, or won't tell me, I wonder."

__________

"And as you can see, the lake is in that direction." Edward made a mental note to avoid it. He didn't do well in water he couldn't stand up in. He didn't do well submerged in water under

any circumstance. He did know how to swim, but metal limbs aren't very conductive to being able to actually do it. Plus, they rust. "And we already saw the Quidditch fields." "I still don't

quite understand what it even is." Lupin laughed. "It's a sport! Didn't you have sports back in Amestris? Don't worry. I'll explain the rules more thoroughly later. I suppose we should next

make our way down to Hagrid's hut by the Forbidden Forest." Edward snorted. "I suppose it's called that because it's forbidden?" Lupin replied in all seriousness "It is forbidden to

students. Things live in that forest that you would not want to catch you alone, and in a number of cases even in a group your return alive would not be guaranteed. Teachers are

allowed to enter, but I wouldn't recommend it unless the direst circumstances demanded it." "Seems like a pretty dumb idea to build a school so close then." Lupin stopped and looked

down at Ed. "I assure you, the children are all perfectly safe. The creatures of the forest do not leave the forest, and even if they were, the castle is under strong enchantments of

protection. Failing that even, every teacher here would gladly give their lives in defense of the school and its occupants." He frowned, seemingly concerned about something. He raised an

eyebrow at Edward. "You are here as a teacher, Elric. I hope you understand what responsibilities that brings with it." Edward replied in equal seriousness. "Yes, I do."

__________

Hagrid is a large man. Much taller than the average person. Edward is a small teenager. Much shorter than the average person. It is a tender subject for him. He hated Hagrid on first

sight. They had met briefly before, at the feast. Hagrid's first remark was "You're the new teacher, then? Awful small, aren't you?" Edward had at the time barely managed to hold himself

back, but privately resolved to do something terrible to the half-giant later in revenge. Unfortunately, Lupin and Hagrid seemed to know each other rather well, and this made him want to

stop in at Hagrid's hut to congratulate the former groundskeeper on his promotion to teacher. Trailing after his fellow Defense teacher, not even yet having crossed the threshold of the

door, Ed suddenly noticed Hagrid's exceedingly large dog. The dog was about the same size as Ed. Big dogs love Ed. Ed doesn't love big dogs. He elected to stay outside. However, when

the two other's tea party stretched on, he got a little bored. Despite the lecture on the dangerous forest and the dreaded nightmares that lie within he had just received, he decided to

explore the outer edges of the forest. 'After all, whatever creatures live in there probably don't venture this far out. If they did, why would this guy make himself such easy prey by

building his house right on the edge of it?'

The forest proved to be rather disappointing. Ed didn't run into any creatures at all, harmful or harmless. In the light of day, it seemed to be an ordinary forest. Nothing but trees, dirt, and

birdsong in the background. Just as he made up his mind to head back, guessing that the little get-together at the hut would have broken up by now, he saw what looked like a paddock

in a clearing. He had seen others just like it back in Resembool. The farmers put them up to give their herds plenty of grazing space, but also to guarantee they wouldn't wander away.

There didn't appear to be any horses in this one though. Ed leaned against the fence. The end of the paddock disappeared into a deeper section of the forest. Maybe the horses were

hidden in the shadows cast by the trees. He gave a whistle, and was pleased to hear hoof beats coming his way.

A number of creatures trotted out from beyond the trees to investigate the noise. At first glance, still under the shade of the canopy of leaves, they did appear to be horses. But when

one, and then another stepped out into the sunlight, it become glaringly obvious that they were something else entirely. The creatures did have the general shape of a horse, with a

horse's tail and hind legs. However, the front legs ended not in hooves, but in talons. Large feathery wings sprouted from their backs and the head was the head of an eagle. He had

never seen anything like them in his entire lifetime. It could have only been a chimera. Nothing in nature could have produced anything that was so obviously a mixture of two previously

known animals, and such differently built animals, at that. However, at the same time Edward found himself disbelieving that any man could have created them. The shift between the two

halves of the body was so balanced and natural. These beautiful animals were so far beyond the miserable, forced and ugly joining of all chimeras he had seen previously. Plus, he had to

take into consideration what Lupin had told him. There were no alchemists here, so who had made them? As more and more of the eagle-horses stepped out from among the trees he

began to wonder. There were much too many of them. There had been alchemists here, hundreds of years ago. Perhaps a few had been created then, and had afterwards bred amongst

themselves to eventually form this herd before him today. Perhaps a few centuries or so had given them the time needed to evolve that natural look. No chimera is Amestris had ever

been known to have offspring with another, but if the two original were made of equal proportions of the same components, it certainly seemed possible. He supposed he would have to

ask one of the teachers who had been here longer, but his hypothesis seemed to be the correct one. But first...

Glancing around, no one seemed to be within sight of him. Therefore, no one would mind if he took a closer look. Hopping the fence, he began advancing toward the nearest animal. This

one was a silver-grey in color, with glaring orange eyes. It looked at Ed with obvious dislike. He responded with a glare of his own. "Relax! I just want a closer look at you, you evil bird."

He stopped about five feet away from the animal. It continued to glare, but didn't move, almost as if it were waiting for something to happen. Edward took this as an invitation to step

forward again, and was immediately met halfway as the eagle-headed horse leapt forward and fastened its razor sharp beak onto his right arm. "Shit!" He tried to tug his arm out of its

mouth, and stumbled backwards, but the creature still refused to let go, and was scratching up the outer plate pretty bad. If it applied any more pressure, he was sure it might actually do

some real damage. Worse yet, he could now hear footsteps and voices calling his name coming from the direction of the hut where he had left his two fellow teachers. This was not the

way he wanted to be found. He braced his feet and pulled, and panicking as the voices grew closer, finally punched the animal in the face with his free hand. With a indignant screech, the

animal finally released its grip just enough to let Ed slip his arm out, and giving one final death glare to the eagle-horse, dashed back the way he had came, jumped the fence, and hid

behind a tree to inspect the damage. The sleeve was torn beyond repair (by normal means, anyway) and the metal prosthetic shone through beneath the ripped fabric. There was

scratching, as he had thought, but it wouldn't look as bad if he polished it out a bit. More troubling were the marks; not quite dents, but definitely signs of straining metal. However, the

arm still seemed to function perfectly. Good old Winry. His arm had held up fine to similar attacks, both by animal and sword, in the past, but that thing had been stronger than he

expected it to be. Still, no worries. The footsteps had accelerated to a run at the sound the despicable creature's screech, so Ed rapidly transmuted his coat sleeve back to its original

state, and then stepped out from behind the tree. He leaned against the fence again, trying to look casual and innocent. Seconds later, both Lupin and Hagrid burst out into the clearing

and stopped when they finally spotted Ed. Hagrid walked up to him. "You didn't go in there, did you? Those are Hippogriffs." "No, I was just watching them. You said they're called

Hippogriffs?" Both men looked visibly relieved. "Yes. They're ridiculously proud beasts, and very dangerous. Don't like to be approached without being paid the proper respects. Always

bow to a Hippogriff before getting anywhere near it, and if it don't bow back? Back away as fast as you can. Elsewise, you might go away minus a limb, and a good amount of your blood."

Ed laughed. "Glad you told me before I went and did something stupid." "Well, we should probably get back." "Yeah."

__________

Ed was reading a textbook of the class he was supposedly supposed to be teaching, when Lupin walked in, looking grave. "One of Hagrid's Hippogriffs attacked a student." Ed snorted.

"Doesn't the least bit surprise me." Then he went back to reading.

__________

Professor Lupin wasn't there when the students arrived for the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Everyone took their seats, but after the first few minutes ticked by with no sign

of the man, everyone began to talk amongst themselves. Finally, the door clicked open. It wasn't Lupin, however. It was a blonde haired teenager, his face in a book, who had navigated

the door open with an elbow, and was now walking up to the head of the classroom, apparently oblivious of the students. He sat down at the desk with a sigh, idly flipping a page. A

Slytherin coughed. The boy looked up, startled. "What are all of you doing in here?" Hermione raised her hand, speaking before the boy even had time to call on her. "We're here our first

Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It was supposed to have begun exactly seven minutes and twenty two seconds ago." Ron snorted under his breath. "That's just like Hermione to

know that." He murmured to Harry. The blonde boy, whom everyone was just recognizing as the mysterious second teacher introduced at the feast, flipped open a silver pocket watch,

and swore at the time. "Damn it! Well, we'd better get going." "Why? Where are we going?" Hermione questioned. The boy looked a little sheepish. "Today was to be a practical lesson. I

need to take you all to staffroom. Lupin will be waiting for us there. You need only your…wands." He mentioned the last word with a slight hint of hesitation as well as distaste, as if the

idea of wands was both foreign and irritating to him. But that might have been imagined.

Leaning against the back wall of the room was an old wardrobe. It stored the teachers' spare robes. Ordinary, that was all it did. Today however, the wardrobe was rocking dangerously,

and strange banging noises came from inside. No seemed to want to approach it. Lupin just smiled at the class, and encouraged them to gather around, while the other teacher, the one

barely older than themselves, sat down in a chair at the other end of the room and began reading his book again. He was already aware of what today's lesson would entail. He'd faced

many frightening things in his lifetime, and had no desire to face any of them again. Lupin clapped his hands to gain all the students' attentions, and said "Now, don't mind Professor Elric.

He'll be sitting this lesson out. And don't worry about the wardrobe. It's only a boggart. It's why we are here today. It seems to have taken up residence here just yesterday afternoon.

Removing it will be the perfect training for you. Now, who can tell the class what a boggart is?" Of course it was Hermione who raised her hand. "It's a shape-shifter. They like to live in

dark enclosed spaces, like a wardrobe in this case. When released, a boggart will take the form of the worst fear of the person it confronts. No one has ever seen a boggart's true

shape." "Very good!" Lupin cried, delighted. "I'm going to open the wardrobe in a few moments, and let the boggart out, and we're going to drive it away. Here's how. The charm

Riddikulus. It forces the boggart to instead take the shape of something amusing. Now, when I let him out, there will be a great many of you here, so he will not know what shape to

take. That's good. It will confuse him. However, I still want you all to get in some semblance of a line so that as many of you as possible will have a turn before it finally flees. That's right.

Try to decide how exactly you plan on defeating your nightmare before your turn comes up. Neville, let's have you go first.

Edward could not help but watch, entertained at what the children here were most afraid of. Mummies, snakes, severed hands, and the like flashed by as the boggart repeatedly

transformed in an attempt to scare the kids. The students gasped and laughed in turn at each of its transformations. He frowned in confusion though, as just when a black haired

bespectacled boy stepped up for his turn, Lupin intervened and stepped in front of the boggart himself. Even more curious, was that for Lupin the creature became a glowing silvery-white

orb hanging in the air. He felt that he should recognize what it was but it was so quickly replaced by a bobbing white balloon by Lupin's Riddikulus charm. Released of air, the balloon

went whizzing around the room, finally dropping to the floor, at Ed's feet, to his own horror. The class gasped as the boggart quickly rose up to become a menacing suit of armor. It was

easily seven feet tall, with spiked shoulders and glowing red eyes. A few girls screamed as it reached out a hand as if to grasp their young teacher, when it suddenly shattered into

hundreds of pieces. In mid-air the pieces turned into brightly colored confetti, no one noticing Lupin whispering a word under his breathe, and surreptitiously pointing his wand in the

direction of the shattered pieces of metal. Finally pushed beyond its limits, the boggart burst into smoke and was gone.

Everyone was laughing and talking excitingly, and congratulating each other on the part they had played in defeating the thing. "Class dismissed!" Lupin yelled out, to be heard over the

voices. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, along with several other students, exclaimed admiration to the blonde professor at how he had managed his spell wordlessly. He just nodded, staring

blankly at the spot where the armor had stood. The students paused, a little unnerved by his behavior, before being reminded by Lupin that they had other classes to get to. So they left.

Lupin watched them until they were out of sight, and then closed the door. He took a seat next to Edward, and the two sat in silence for a while. Eventually Lupin began to talk in a low

voice, so that even had they not been alone in the room, Edward would have been the only one to hear his words. "You weren't afraid of that suit of armor, Elric. You were afraid of it

breaking. The fear the boggart was reflecting was the fear that the armor would break beyond anyone's abilities to fix it, even as the students thought that the suit shattering was your

Riddikulus charm." His statement was met with silence. "You probably guessed the confetti was my doing. It needed only once more for the boggart to dissipate, and the children would

have been confused as to why it was not finally defeated by your charm." Still nothing was said, either to confirm or oppose Lupin's statements. Finally he demanded "Why? Why is a suit

of armor so important to you?" Finally, the alchemist raised his eyes to Lupin's. The boy looked shaken, but angry as well. "Why do you fear the moon, Lupin?" He replied, answering the

question with a question of his own. Because that is what Ed had realized that silver shape had been. The other man could do nothing but silently quiver in…rage? Fear? Either way, the

topic was dropped.

__________

Days went by, the class taught by Professor Lupin and Professor Elric grew in popularity, despite the fact that the Slytherins had nothing bad things to say about them both. (Look at the

state of his robes! He's poorer than dirt. And that other one. What kind of weakling is afraid of suits of armor? Especially when the halls of this place are lined with them! That Dumbledore

probably found both of them on the streets.) Ron and Hermione more and more frequently got into arguments involving his rat and her cat. Quidditch season was approaching. Best of all,

the trip to Hogsmeade was approaching. Lupin volunteered to take Edward down, but he didn't find it much interesting. It was much too small to remind him of Central, and much too

urban to remind him of Reseembol. They stopped in at a pub, where the long tradition of pub owners offering Edward alcohol despite him being grossly underage was continued. Lupin,

laughing, had to convince him that a person would have to drink extraordinarily large amounts of butterbeer, the local specialty, to even get tipsy before Ed would try it. He ended up

liking it. It was so warm going down his throat. But after only a short time, Ed requested to return to the castle, so they did. An hour or so later saw Lupin grading homework assignments

while Ed sat on a desk, swinging his feet and sipping a steaming cup of coffee. "Elric?" "Hmm?" Lupin set aside his quill. "We've been working together for, if not a long time, at least long

enough that I should know something about you besides your name. What was you childhood like." Edward sighed and took another sip of coffee. 'I don't suppose it would hurt any if I

left out all the important bits.' "I was born in a town named Reseembol. Nothing but farmland. About as rural as you can get, but we loved it there. My father…" Here he gritted his teeth

and almost growled in anger. "My father left my mother when we were very young. I don't remember much about him but that he was cold and distant, forever locked away in his study.

After he was gone long enough that we knew he was never coming back, we began to go through his books, and teaching ourselves alchemy." "We? You mean you and your mother?"

Lupin interrupted. "No, my younger brother, Alphonse. Anyway, our mother died when I was ten. Al was nine. After that, we dropped out of school and threw ourselves into alchemy. It

kind of became the only important thing to us. We apprenticed ourselves to an alchemist in another town. And when I turned 12, we left for Central to apply for the State Alchemist Exam.

That's about it." Lupin sat, absorbing this information. "How old are you now?" "Sixteen." "Right…but wait, you joined when you were twelve?!? They allow that where you come from?"

Edward scoffed. "Of course not. I was the exception. I was the prodigy." The teacher didn't look any happier to discover the wizarding world was conducting diplomatic relations with a

country that allows twelve year olds into the army. "Anyway, I think it's your turn to tell me something about yourself." Lupin opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the

sound of footsteps outside the door. No one should have been in the school right now. All the students should have been at Hogsmeade, or in their common rooms. He got up and poked

his head around the door. "Harry?"

__________

Harry turned to see Professor Lupin standing in the doorway of his office. "Harry? What are you doing? Where are Ron and Hermione?" "Hogsmeade." Harry said, in a would-be casual

voice. "Ah." He considered Harry for a moment. "Would you like to come in?" The teacher had the homework assignment from two days ago spread over his desk, and the blonde teacher,

still an enigma among the students, sat on a desk drinking a coffee. He gave Harry a rather suspicious look when he came in, but otherwise said nothing. Harry sat down, accepting the

cup he was given, and for a while just turned it around in his hands. Eventually, "Professor, why didn't you let me take on the boggart?" To his surprise, Professor Elric spoke as well.

"Yes, please do. I've been wondering about that myself." Lupin raised his eyebrows. "I thought that would have been obvious." Harry was taken aback. "Why?" "Because I assumed it

would take the shape of Lord Voldemort, that's why." "…Oh." Harry said, staring down into his cup. He began to reply that, in truth, it was the dementors that scared him so much more,

but Professor Elric replied first. "Lord Who?" Harry jolted so hard that he dropped his cup onto the floor. "How could you not know who Voldemort is?" The younger Professor gave him an

amused smile. "If you would remember, I have only been in this country for a very short period of time. Just shortly longer than the school year so far. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to

know this man's name. Who is he? The villain in a popular book, perhaps?" Harry just gazed in wonder that this man was so ignorant as to not know the name of someone who was

responsible for so much evil, and the deaths of so many. But just then a knock came at the door. "Come in." Lupin called. Snape entered, carrying a smoking goblet, eyeing Harry with

undisguised hatred, and also both Defense teachers with a hint of strong dislike. Lupin smiled nonetheless. "Ah. Severus. Thanks very much. Just bring it here to the desk. Would you like

to leave with a cup of something rather better tasting than what you're bringing?" HE asked, indicating his own mug of tea. "No. That," A finger was pointed at the steaming goblet.

"Needs to be drunk directly. I have made an entire cauldron full, if you need more." "I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks again, Severus. Sorry for the trouble I've caused

you." "Not at all." Snape replied, but you could tell that he very much did mind that he had to take the time to prepare this potion for the Defense teacher. After the Potions teacher had

swept out of the room, Lupin picked up the goblet and sniffed, shuddering. "Snape has very kindly prepared this for me. I was never very good at potions, and this is exceedingly

complex. This will, answer your question earlier, Elric. You see, I have, ever since I was a child, had an…illness, which though can be kept at arm's length and for the better part of the

year leaves me unharmed, a few days every month I begin to feel its effects and must take potions to keep my health up." Ed nodded. Inside though, he fumed. The teacher had been

going to tell him earlier, despite not wanting to, and was now using the presence of a student to justify keeping more information back. And because he had offered information, even as

trite as this information was, he no longer owed Edward for the information he had given Lupin. Sometimes equivalent exchange can be a real bitch. That stupid student was saying

something about how Snape was really into dark arts when he was younger, just blabbing on and on. Lupin didn't seem to be listening to him either. Oh well. He would find out just what

things Lupin was hiding from him eventually.


	5. Chapter 5

Tada!!! Next chapter!!!! I dont own these characters!!!!!! p.s just wanna say i wanted to put this up earlier, so i was thinking of you, but there was this really nasty lightning storm right? Like, 10-12 straight hours. no joke. and lightning struck our house, massive power surge, and the computer's networking card and the modum go kaboom sizzle sizzle burst into flames. well, they didnt really burst into flames, but they might as well have cause they were total fried and didnt work anymore. n the computer guy who came out said we were lucky the entire computer didnt burst into flames, and he actually meant it, like it should have happened. soooooo, long story short, i had no access to the internet for two straight weeks plus. gaahhhhhhhh i thought i would die. but i didn't.

sooooooooooo yeah. p.p.s im sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy by everyone who reviewed and/or bookmark/favorite/watev-its-called-where-you-do-that-thing-where-it-lets-you-know-if-theres-been-another-update? that thing. so im so happy i could melt, im serious, you all made my day several times over.

p.p.p.s someone mentioned like did Ed and Lupin think Harry is annoying? Actually, Lupin does like Harry, he was just kinda busy/disctracted at the moment which is why he wasnt paying attention to harry. Ed on the other hand DOES think that Harry is annoying beyond belief, as you see in this chapter. SO IF IT LOOKS LIKE IM HARRY BASHING, IM NOT!!!! ED IS!!!!! ok go! (as in read now, not the band)

p.p.p.p.s sry again for the screwy format, but get used to it cause i gave up trying. ok now go! and sry if this one isnt as long as all the others. now go!

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The dorky kid with the weird scar on his forehead just kept babbling on and on as if his personal opinion would be enough to get this teacher he obviously didn't like fired. Professor

Lupin at least made an attempt to appear interested, despite obviously, to Ed if not the kid, being completely distracted by something else. Edward on the other hand didn't even pretend

to care. The kid really wasn't acknowledging Edward anyway. He seemed like one of those people who have been told how important they are so many times that they actually believe it.

Even if unconsciously, they place themselves as being above everyone else, and therefore take it upon themselves to right all wrongs. They are always the hero, the one with the

answers. This Potter kid, despite Edward being a teacher, seemed to have mentally placed him in the category of not-as-special-as-me. Apparently only Lupin warranted enough respect

to confide in. It was really annoying, if only because Ed was used to being the special one, the prodigy, rather than the one left on the sidelines. He got up to leave. 'Let Lupin have some

alone time with his favorite pupil.' But when he swung the door open, he was rather startled to hear frightened and questioning student voices. 'What happened? Shouldn't everyone still

be in Hogsmeade?' A quick glance at the clock told him no, they would have returned just moments before. 'Good news. Maybe I still have time to break up whatever is happening down

there.' Curious, Lupin and Harry had stood up to join him at the door. One voice rose above the pack. "Quick! Someone find a teacher! Get Dumbledore!" Moments later, Percy, one of the

older Gryffindors, came running down the hallway. When he spotted the two Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, he slowed down just long enough to call out "You need to get to the

entrance to the Gryffindor common room, Professor Lupin, Professor Elric! The Fat Lady is gone! I still need to inform the Headmaster!" Then he was gone again, and the room quickly

emptied as its inhabitants followed his example.

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In the short time that Ed had lived and worked at the school, he had come to realize that he wasn't just tired or seeing things. The paintings _really_ _were_ moving, talking, _thinking_ even.

(Photographs moved, but didn't speak or think. Why was that?) Nothing he had ever learned could explain this phenomenon, so he did the only thing he could do to prevent himself from

going insane. He ignored it, which for a scientist, was a very hard thing to do. So, it seemed unfair that he finally had to confront the issue face to face in such an unfortunate way. The

portrait of the Fat Lady had been viciously torn to shreds, ribbons of canvas lying curled in on themselves like dead things on the floor. None of the scraps that he could see boasted the

ostentatious pink of the Fat Lady's dress, so Ed could only assume, as much as he hated to admit that such a thing was possible, that she had survived by fleeing to another painting.

The atmosphere in the hallway was rather unsettling nonetheless. The gathered Gryffindors stared at the sight as though it was murdered body staining their floor rather than painted

paper.

Dumbledore pushed his way through the crowd, McGonagall and Snape following in his wake, as always. Somber faced, after only confirming with a quick glance of his own eyes what he

had surely already been told, he ordered his 2nd and 3rd in command to recruit Filch, the school's caretaker, and immediately begin the search for the Fat Lady. To the room in general he

asked "Who did this?" It was angry as Edward had ever heard the normally bright-eyed and smiling old man. This voice was cold and ruthless, and Ed guiltily found himself comparing the

headmaster to the Fueher. Perhaps this was the real Dumbledore, and the loving old man was as much a front as King Bradley's smiling and kind outer persona. 'No.' He shook his head.

'This anger is out of concern for the safety of the woman in the portrait, and for anyone else the perpetrator may target.' A head hesitantly appeared around the corner of a nearby

painting. "Ummm…I believe the Fat Lady is hiding behind a tree in the landscape on the 4th floor, Headmaster." Dumbledore turned his glare on the painted figure, who cringed and

ducked farther down beneath the frame. "Who did this?" Dumbledore asked in a terrible quiet voice. The man's mouth had sunk beneath the frame so that only his nose and eyes

showed, so the answer when it came was a trifle muffled. "He did it when she refused to let him through without the password, rude as always about it. I don't think she knew who he

was. Otherwise she might have reigned in her pride before his temper flared up like that." "Who?" This time there would be no avoiding the question. The figure gulped. "Sirius Black."

Then he disappeared from sight entirely.

__________

All the Gryffindors were sent to the Great Hall, where they were joined by the Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students not ten minutes later. Everyone seemed confused or

scared. The tables had been hastily removed to accomodate the hundreds of sleeping bags that covered every spare inch of floor. To those that had not already made the connection,

Dumbledore announced "The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the Castle. I'm afraid that for your own safety you will have to spend the night here. All doors leading

out into the halls will be locked. All teachers and only teachers will carry a key. I expect the prefects to stand guard. While i am gone, I am placing the head boy and girl in charge of

all of you until we return." After this rather curt speech, and without further information, he turned and walked out, closing the door firmly behind him. In the silence the click of a lock

turning was heard. The room immediately erupted into talking, and the Gryffindors were swarmed for information.

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awwww. that was really short wasnt it....and kinda a crumy way to end a chapter...im sry. and i made Dumbledore seems so horrible!!! gahhhh. he's just suposed to be all worried for everyone and gonna kick badguy butt. ah well, hopefully you got a little of that. au revoir! (until next chapter)


	6. Chapter 6

o.k!!! i mean, tada!!! heres the latest chapter!!! now, im really kinda hoping here that no one is too OC. By which i mean, Snape. also, i'm really hoping its longer than the last one. i thought it was when i was writing it, but now i'm not too sure. umm, wat else. This story is gonna be kinda AU in that BEFORE the story takes place, there a gonna have been a LOT more Scar encounters. like, Scar gets all frustrated at failing to kill Ed so many times he starts purposely hunting Ed and ignoring all the other state alchemists. maybe i should bring him to Hogwarts later? Huh? Yes? No? No plans for Al or Winry to come, so sorry to disappoint. ALSO i wasnt sure how much Snape knew about the truth about Sirius and stuff, since Snape's a death eater and stuff. for the sake of the story, he isnt going to know anymore than everyone else. so does he know Sirius is innocent. NO. ummmmmm.....i really hope i'm not forgetting anything. thanks for reading review please!!!!!!

last, i think im gonna try this time putting the divider things between every chapter. that will make it confusing, but maybe less confusing than usual? but i wont center them. tell me if this works for u?

EDIT!!!!!!: SRY GUYS. UR RIGHT!!!! CEDRIC IS IN HUFFLEPUFF. I'M GONNA FIX THAT. and that other stuff you pointed out too. thnks Silhouette the SANVAE and Vi-Violence spotted it too. ALL FIXED NOW!!!!!

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All members of the Hogwarts staff were divided into pairs, and these partners were assigned a different section of castle to make the search for Sirius Black faster and more

thorough. It was decided that it would be too dangerous for any wizard to take on the convict single handed, but for as much ground that needed to be covered, the teachers were

spread pretty thin. In the melee, Ed had lost sight of Lupin, and so it was to his disappointment that he found himself searching the shadowing corridors of the school with Snape, the

potions master. Even if stealth hadn't been required, the halls they wandered would still have remained silent. The number of times the two had exchanged words could be counted on

one hand. When not teaching classes, Snape seemed to spend all of his free time in the dungeons, while Ed spent his free days researching in the library, or wandering the school

grounds. Regardless, it was clear that the older man neither liked nor trusted the young alchemist, so Ed felt only justified in feeling the same. He knew that Snape was one of

Dumbledore's most trusted advisors, but that only guaranteed that the man was keeping things from him, secrets of Dumbledore and the school. As if to prove this very point, Snape

opened a number of secret passages and rooms over the course of the search that Ed would never have guessed were there. He hated to admit it, but had the missing man been hiding

in one of these hidden passageways, Ed would have passed him right by without ever knowing the better.

__________

In one such room, Ed dutifully contributed to checking every nook, cranny, and shadowy corner of the room for any sign of the madman. As ever before, there was nothing. He

sighed and leaned against the walls, waiting for the other man to finish with whatever detecting spell he was casting. Despite the fact that they both knew that wherever Black had

escaped to, it wasn't here, that there was no one around to hear them, he still felt the need to speak softly. "What exactly did this Black do that was so horrifying? Why is everyone so

afraid?" Images of the Black's vengeful face flew across the inside of his skull, screaming out at him from the wanted posters plastered everywhere in the station and the town. Snape

scoffed at him. "You really have no idea what you are getting into, do you? If you somehow did manage to just stumble across Black, you wouldn't have time to even recognize him before

he killed you. With your inability to use magic, you're useless to me. You would be better off if I finished the search myself and you just hid here until I came to collect you." Ed growled at

his co-worker's prejudiced insult, and managed to spit out "Your precious Dumbledore doesn't seem to think I'm so worthless. And apparently he doesn't think you could handle this guy

alone either, as much as you may be his favorite, otherwise you wouldn't have been assigned a partner at all!" The Potions professor whirled around, now equally as angry as Ed, and

growing more so with every word. "A mere boy like you can't possibly understand the situation we are in! By now even you, as oblivious and self-absorbed as you are, must know the

name of the Dark Lord! Must have heard of the things he has done! The things he is now trying to do! Sirius Black worked to help him achieve those goals in the past. His allegiances still

lie with the Dark Lord; no one has any reason to suspect otherwise. Black killed people! Wizards and Muggles alike. And if not for him, she might still be alive!" As he reached the climax of

his tirade, he suddenly broke off, realizing he had said too much. He took a breath to calm himself before continuing. "Even as a child, he found enjoyment in hurting others, endangering

lives with his cruel pranks." "Sounds as if you knew him personally." Ed replied, cautiously probing for more information. No reply came, but he wasn't expecting one. He filed all of this

away for later. His older colleague might have attended school at the same time as Black. His hatred of the man seemed to go far deeper than the fear and disgust people normally felt

towards murderers. This hate had the black feel of a long simmering personal grudge. Snape began talking again, his voice taking on a professional tone. "The most important thing to

remember is that he escaped from Azkaban. And if he did it once, he can doubtless do it again. He wasn't the only one of the Dark Lord's followers to be locked away, and Voldemort must

have plans to free the rest as well. Which is why we need to catch him before he finishes whatever it is he plans to do and returns to the Dark Lord."

__________

"But all in all, he's just a serial killer. A mass murder, is that right?" Snape frowned at the simplification, but nodded yes. As informative as this situation was proving to be, Edward needed

time to think, and so began to steer the conversation back to its original content. "Then you have no reason to worry about me. I'm an experienced hand at taking down killers." 'So

maybe they found me first, but hey, I'm still standing here alive, aren't I?' Snape raised one black eyebrow. "Oh really? Just who are these numerous killers you have so competently faced

before?" "Maybe you've heard of Barry the Chopper? I suppose not. Unpleasant man. Made his living as a butcher, but after a while he found young women's flesh to be so much more

appetizing to cut than a pig's. Let's not forget Scar, the man who specifically targeted State Alchemists, such as myself. That is until, of course, he actually tried taking me on." 'Ah yeah,'

Ed thought privately. 'So maybe Scar isn't behind bars. But seeing as he failed to kill me on a number of occasions, he's been rather fixated. He doesn't seem to want to make any move

on the others until he finally offs me. And he hasn't been seen in a while…so who knows? Maybe he finally kicked the bucket himself. Snape doesn't need to know any of that.' "Lastly, you

may have forgotten, but I am a member of the military. My co-workers are soldiers. Everyone around me is basically a killer for a living! So as you can see," Here Ed made a dramatic bow,

eyes glinting up at the professor through the fringe of his bangs, "I am not unfamiliar with facing death."

__________

No one that night ever found Sirius Black. Where he had disappeared to remained just as much a mystery as how he had gotten into the school in the first place. Snape seemed to

be purposefully avoiding Edward now, but whenever he could not dodge passing the alchemist in the halls or at mealtimes, at least he acknowledged him with a nod and a "Good

Afternoon."

__________

Harry dashed off to his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. He couldn't afford to be late again, and his classmates probably would not appreciate the lost house points that would

result if he was either. He breathed a sigh of relief as he rounded the corner and noticed several others students still trickling into the classroom, and slowed down to a trot. He was

surprised, and a little disappointed, to find as he entered that Lupin wasn't in the room. Instead, it was that teacher's assistant, the short blonde one. He was sitting with his feet up on

the desk, casually eating an apple as he watched the students enter and chat amongst themselves at their seats. Harry wasn't sure of what he thought about the kid. He didn't really

seem to do much. And he just couldn't get over the fact that Dumbledore had hired someone so young to be a teacher. After a while he seemed to notice that Harry was staring at him.

Glancing briefly at his ever present pocket watch, he raised an eyebrow and remarked. "The lesson is about to begin, Potter. I would suggest you take your seat, but it's not really a

suggestion. Unless, of course, you are having trouble finding it?" There were a few snickers from the Slytherin side of the room, but Harry didn't move. "Where's Professor Lupin?" he

asked. Professor Elric scowled. "Said he's feeling too sick to work. Now are you going to sit down, or do I need to make you?" "What's wrong with him?" Harry shot back. Out of the corner

of his eye, he could see Hermione frowning at him. He really didn't know why he felt the need to be disagreeable with Professor Elric, but something about the guy just got under his skin.

He told himself it was just because he liked and had gotten used to Professor Lupin's lessons that he was being so obnoxious about it. The teacher's eyes narrowed at him. "The non life

threatening kind of thing. Now sit down." Harry walked slowly back to his seat. The teacher smiled triumphantly to himself and then spoke next to the class in general, which had settled

down in interest of the potentially dangerous conversation building between the mysterious new teacher and Hogwarts's 'golden boy'. "Personally, I think he's faking it. But then again, I

suppose it is about time to earn my paycheck. That is, if I was making one." The class laughed. "That's right. Your friendly neighborhood Amestrian is not getting paid to teach you. But I

still am getting an allowance from the good folks back home in Central HQ, so don't feel too bad for me. But really, what did Lupin have you guys working on?" He flipped through the

teacher's edition of their textbook, ignoring the hands of students who couldn't recognize a rhetorical question. "Seriously? Kappas, centaurs, giant spiders, werewolves? This is what

you've been learning? Not only have I serious doubts about their existence, this is not what I signed up for to teach." 'Not that I volunteered at all.' "This seems more like a Horrible

Creatures and How to Avoid Them class, than a Defense Against the Dark Arts. Might as well have Hagrid teach it on the side." He slammed the book shut. Harry couldn't decide whether

to feel annoyed or worried about Elric's attitude to the revelation of what he was actually supposed to be teaching, and it seemed he wasn't the only one. "I suppose werewolves just

might be possible." He conceded. "After, I have had run-ins with human hybrids before. That little incident with Greed…What is it…Granger?" Of course Hermione needed to raise her hand.

"Actually sir, werewolves aren't necessarily hybrids. Lycanthropy is considered a disease. It is transferred through a bite, rather like rabies. Furthermore, werewolves share none of the

characteristics of a wolf for the better part of the year, and only do so during the days of the full moon. And...am I did I hear correctly that you said you've actually met a werewolf?"

"Hmmm? No, she was part snake I believe." He ignored the roar of whispering that this comment brought about, but wasn't oblivious to it. The Gryffindor seemed suspicious. The

Slytherin, rather, seemed impressed.

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"You know what?" He continued. "My lessons are gonna be special. I'm gonna teach you guys real defense." Professor Elric announced, grinning wildly. "Starting now." He picked up

the textbook, pulled back, and then flung it as hard as he could across the room. It happened too fast for anyone to say a thing. It struck a Gryffindor boy who was trying (and failing) to

flirt with the girl next to him square in the forehead, and he tumbled backwards out of his chair. "Gah!!! What the ****!!!" The boy jumped up swearing, clutching his head. Then he

seemed to realize who he was addressing, because he turned white and starting stuttering. The teacher's grin just seemed to spread wider. "If you can't even defend yourself against a

book, I don't see how you could possibly think you could defend yourself against the dark arts. Good thing you have me to teach you. Oh, and 10 points from Gryffindor."

"Can you believe this guy?" Harry murmured to his friends as they left the room after class. "I don't see how turning the class into a dodge ball lesson is going to defend us against

the dark arts either." "I don't know Harry. Professor Elric methods may be…unusual, but I think he's right. Like he said, if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a spell." (Ha ha ha!

Dodgeball reference. I love that movie.) Ron glared at Hermione. "I stand with Harry on this one, 'Mione. What kind of psycho keeps a wrench in his desk drawer anyway?" "You're only

saying that because you couldn't dodge it. And be careful, your icepack is dripping all over."

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It was a dark and stormy day. The rain was coming down in sheets, and the wind was blowing so hard as to make the rain fall horizontal. No one in their right mind would venture

out of doors in this weather. However, no one has ever accused sports fans of being sane. Especially the British kind. And so that was how Harry found himself preparing, along with the

rest of his team, to play Quidditch in this lovely weather. Slytherin had managed to worm their way out of playing by claiming their seeker was still recovering from his hypogriff inflicted

injury, and so Hufflepuff was standing up to the plate in their place. Oliver Wood was sensibly panicking. It was the all important first Quidditch match of the year, and they had spent

weeks practicing anticipating Slytherin. Hufflepuff played with a completely different style, as if they weren't already disadvantage enough by the weather conditions. At least Hermione

had waterproofed his glasses from the rain. The captains met each other on the field and shook hands. The players mounted there brooms. The whistle blew.

__________

In less than five minutes Harry was soaked to the skin, and could feel his digits going numb. He clenched his hand tighter around the staff of the broom, so that even if it froze at

least he wouldn't fall off. He already had twice been almost unseated by a bludger that he hadn't seen approaching. He quickly lost track of time. He caught a glimpse of Cedric Diggory,

the other team's captain and seeker streaking off in the other direction. "Maybe he's spotted it. I'd probably have better luck just following him anyway." Harry thought, and swiveled his

broom around. There was another clap of thunder followed immediately by a jagged fork of lightning. This was getting more and more dangerous. If he didn't catch the snitch soon…

Another flash of lightning illuminated the spectators, and Harry paled at the long shadow briefly cast up in the far corner of the stands.

__________

Ed shivered, cursing a blue streak as he rubbed his sore automail port. "Remind me why we're out here again?" He asked Lupin bitterly. "Well, I'll admit this wasn't how I pictured

introducing you to our fabulous sport, but it's the first match of the season! We need to show our support by watching the game." Ed scowled. "There's nothing to watch. I can't see a

damned thing in all this rain." He jumped as thunder roared directly overhead, the lightning practically on top of it. He paused. Just for a split second, in the spotlight of heaven's crashing

cymbals, he had thought he saw that dog again. The black hellhound that had jumped him on the way to the bus stop. He craned his neck, then shook his head, drops flying out of his

hair as if he were a dog himself. It must have been his imagination.

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Harry shook his drowned bangs out of his eyes. The dog was gone. It must have been his imagination. "I need to get my head back into the game." Quickly scanning the field he

saw a flash of something golden -the snitch- and something larger and yellow speeding after it –Diggory-. Harry threw himself flat on his broom and took after them. But something odd

was happening.

__________

"Oh no! It looks like that Hufflepuff boy spotted the snitch first. Hey, Elric. Elric? Edward? Are feeling o.k?" Ed clutched his head. "No. I'm not. I suddenly…don't feel…very well at all."

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An eerie silence was falling across the stadium. The wind, though strong as ever, was forgetting to roar. It was as if someone had put the world on mute. Suddenly, just as the

storm froze his face, fingers and toes, a wave a cold rolled over him that froze his very insides. He saw something moving on the field below. Something like déjà vu hit him. Beneath him ,

at least a hundred dementors stood, their cowled faces turned upward toward him. What was started on the train had come back to be finished. A scream rose inside his head. A

woman's scream. "Not Harry! Please! Have Mercy! Have Mercy!" Then there was laughter. Then there was nothing.

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Harry woke up to voices in the hospital. "Lucky the ground was so soft." "I thought he was dead for sure." "But he didn't even break his glasses!" It was his quidditch team

members, and Ron and Hermione. He groaned and sat up. "What happened?" He asked. Then he remembered the dementors. "You fell off." Said Fred. "Must've been, what, fifty feet? We

were really worried there for a minute, man." "But they called the match, right? So you could call it taking one for the team." He had a hopeful smile. No one said anything. The smile

dropped off his face like a stone. "The thing is, Harry. Diggory caught the snitch before you fell. Just seconds really. But it ended the game. Diggory tried to call off the win, wanted a

rematch, but they still won fair and square. Even Wood admits it." "Where is Wood?" Harry looked around, but he didn't see his captain anywhere. "We think he's trying to drown himself

in the showers. But really, if we didn't drown out on that field, I really don't think the shower is gonna do it." Harry groaned loudly and sank his head onto his knees. "Hey! It's o.k Harry!

We can still do this! If Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw, and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin…" "I think…the bigger problem… isn't that you lost some stupid game. It's what those…

dementors…were doing inside…school grounds." Harry glanced up surprised. It was Professor Elric and Professor Lupin. He hadn't seen them enter. It was Professor Elric who had

spoken. He didn't look very good. The halting sentences were a dead give away, combined with a pale and sweating face. Harry had forgotten that the dementors were just as attracted

to his young teacher as they were to him. They must have gone after Harry this time because he was out in the open while his teacher must have been hidden among the crowd watching

the game.

__________

He was broken out of this train of thought by Lupin's voice. "Indeed. Dumbledore was infuriated. You most probably would not have woken up if he hadn't had the quick

thinking to slow your fall, and I can't think of anyone else whose patronus would have been strong enough to drive that many dementors away. For as little comfort as this may give you,

the ministry will be receiving very strong words about this little incident." It really didn't help. And as stupid as it may have sounded, really the only thing that would make him feel better

about this was winning the team quidditch game for Gryffindor. "Did anyone get my nimbus for me?" Ron and Hermione glanced at each other nervously. "Um." "What?" "It…when you fell

off…" She took a deep breathe, and then spat out the rest as fast as she could get it out off her mouth. "Ithitthewhompingwillowharry." It took him a moment or two to mentally process

that sentence. 'It hit the Whomping Willow, Harry.' And just in case he hadn't figured it out yet, Ron apologetically tipped a bag off wood chippings onto the bed.

__________

Ed watched the owl fly off into the distance with not just a little bit of apprehension. He just couldn't wrap his mind around trusting an owl with confidential reports. And he had felt

absolutely ridiculous as he politely asked the owl if it couldn't just drop the letter off at a post office. As odd as it was to him, he couldn't even imagine the response if the letter actually

arrived at Central delivered by owl. He tried to avoid writing reports back to Mustang all together, and mostly he succeeded because there wasn't anything to report. But these past days

he couldn't pass off as un-noteworthy. First there was Sirius Black. How ironic that he had fled to avoid a murderer, and ran straight into the arms of another. Then there his conversation

with Snape. Although it was just a small thing, what bothered him about it the most was this Voldemort character. Not the man himself. As much as Dumbledore and the other teachers

might believe it, Edward knew from personal experience that no one comes back from the dead. No, it was this. No one seemed to want to call him by his name. Hence, it was always 'He-

who-must-not-be-named'. But Snape, in their conversations in the dungeon, referred to him as 'The Dark Lord' and once even by Voldemort. He couldn't tell yet what this meant, but it

was usually the small details like this that unraveled the mystery in the end. He copied down a transcript of his entire conversation with the potions professor. There was also the

ministry's obvious inability to control their prison's supernatural guards. Last he threw in the random tidbits he had learned about other staff members. Particularily Lupin. He knew there

was something going on with that man, and he knew what it was, but he just couldn't figure out what it was that he knew. He wrote down anything and everything he thought might

help Mustang piece it together for him. Now all he could do was keep teaching, and wait for the reply.


	7. Chapter 7

tada!!!!!! sorry if i havent updated in awhile, or more accurately, i dont think i have at all since school started. but i blame physics. goddamn you physics!!!!! as in the class and the homework, etc. i really dont mind gravity and junk themselves, i just dont like having to actually know 'bout it. gahhhhhhh......there was a bunch of stuff i meant to say here, but i can't remember any of it.....wait, one of them was that Flitwick si the really short one, right? if he isn't, just pretend he is, cuasei ain't going back to change it. also(did i already say this last chapter or do i just think i did? well, i'll say it again in case i didn't) a couple chapters ago i said "mercury into gold" and i KNOW the expression is lead into gold, but the only one that is actually physically possible (nevermind make that chemically possible, or i suppose cause they've never been successful, it would be theoretically? possible) is mercury into gold. i'm kinda wondering why no one was asking bout that, but maybe you all already knew? hmmmmm? and...yeah....this chapter isnt the best so far, but i dont think it sucks, so give me ur honest opinion. thnks laters luvs ya bye go read it now!

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As the bell rang, Harry gathered his things and let out a sigh. As much as he usually enjoyed Professor Lupin's lectures, he hadn't paid much attention in class today. With all the

things going on in his life right now, homework didn't exactly make the short list. Ron patted him on the shoulder, interpreting the reason for the sigh only in part. "I really am sorry

about the broom, Harry. I overheard one of the teachers saying they might allow us another Hogsmeade trip before school lets out for the term. It's a while yet, but we'll make

sure to drop by the quidditch shop and pick up a broom catalog, right Hermione?" The bushy haired brunette was nowhere to been seen. A panicked look jumped onto the

redhead's face. "Oh no! I was doodling in the spell book the whole period! I need her notes if I'm going to pass this class! 'Mione! Where'd you go? Wait for me!" Harry watched his

best friend dash off through the hallways calling his other best friend's name. He made to go after them both, at a more leisurely pace, but Lupin's voice called him back into the

room. "Harry? Would you wait a moment? I'd like a word with you."

__________

Harry turned back around and made his way to the front row of desks, dropping his books on one, and leaning against it himself. "It's just that you seemed rather distracted and

depressed in class today. I was concerned that this had something to do with the occurrences at the last Gryffindor quidditch match?" Harry looked embarrassed. He hadn't

expected the professor to notice his behavior. "Yeah." He answered. He hesitated, then burst out "But why? Why do the dementors only affect ME like that? Am I just…" "You are

not alone in how they affect you, Harry, and Heaven knows it has nothing to do with weakness. Dementors are among the foulest creatures to inhabit the earth. They glory in

decay and despair, and they drink down the hope and happiness and peace around us that we work so hard to build, until the only thing left remaining is that darkness, those

worst memories and experiences of ours that would keep us from remembering the good in ourselves and others. The worst experiences of your life are much worse than an

ordinary person's. Its little wonder that you fell off your broom." "When they get near me, I can HEAR Voldemort killing my mother." Harry whispered. Lupin made a move as though

to grip the distraught boy's shoulder, but thought better of it. "I can't imagine what Azkaban must be like, trapped with those monsters EVERY day for years on end." Lupin nodded

grimly. "Most go insane, and lose their magic as well." There was a terrible pause. "It makes you wonder how Sirius Black managed to escape." Lupin looked up sharply. "Professor

Lupin," Harry continued. "You scared away those dementors that first day on the train." "Patronuses are only defensive charms, not offensive, and are difficult to use with more

than one dementor on hand." "Just the same…could you teach me how to use one?"

Lupin looked embarrassed and distressed. "I'm not an expert on the subj..." He paused at the look on his student's face. "Alright. I'll do it. But I'm afraid it will have to wait until

after winter break." For the first time Harry noticed the bags under his teacher's eyes. "I haven't been feeling too well of lately."

__________

The green eyes behind the thick black frames were torn between sympathy for his professor and annoyance at what he knew Lupin's sickness meant for the class. It was like

clockwork. "Why do you put up with him, Professor Lupin?" He probably should have been embarrassed by the fact that his dislike for the new young teacher was so obvious that

the older man did not even need to ask who he was referring to. "He's a good person, Harry. You just haven't gotten to know Edward, is all. And, I don't suspect either of us ever

really will. As outspoken as he may be on the outside, he's a very private person." "He doesn't go that deep! All there is to him is a rude, self-centered hypocritical jerk who doesn't

take anything seriously! What's there to understand?" Harry blurted out before he realized what it was he was saying. He knew he had gone too far. It was hard to tell if Lupin

was more angry or upset. It seems Lupin couldn't decide either. "I'm very disappointed in you, Harry. Disrespecting a teacher like that is not something I can just let slide by.

Twenty points from Gryffindor. But most of all, I feel sorry for you Harry, that you can't see your way past such superficial traits to a person's true heart." Lupin turned his eyes

away and began to shuffle the papers of on his desk. Harry knew when he was being dismissed, so he gathered his things and left.

_________

Later in the Gryffindor common room, he just kept replaying the conversation in his mind, cursing his big mouth and tried to think up ways to apologize to Lupin. But then suddenly

a single sentence clicked in his mind. "You are not alone in how they affect you, Harry." Who else reacted the same way he did? Oh…Professor Elric did, didn't he? That time on the

train, the dementors were much more interested in the blonde Amestrian than they were in Harry. And after the Quidditch match, he may have not ended up in the hospital, but the

professor looked very much like he was either going to collapse or throw up. Lupin said that the reason Harry felt the way he did around the dementors was because…oh. If

possible, now Harry felt even worse. But what horrible thing had happened to Professor Elric?

________________

Ed shivered, and pulled his cloak tighter around him. Winter was closing in, and the old castle was drafty. He had experienced worse winters, but he had been informed that

winters here were much longer than he was used to back home in Amestris, and the temperature would only continue to drop. He glared gloomily out the window. The grass on the

lawn was already beginning to glimmer with frost. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Professor Flitwick asked, as he walked past carrying a box labeled Christmas Decorations. "Wait until first

snowfall! Some years we get several feet!" He winked. "You and me had better watch out, eh?" The Charms teacher was even shorter than Edward, which had come as a great

surprise. The tiny man continued down the halls, whistling an overly cheery tune. Ed just scowled and rubbed his aching shoulder. Then he blinked in surprise and leaned forward

out over the sill. Something black and four legged stood at the edge of the forbidden forest. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it looked like it was staring back at him.

__________

The huge dog wagged its tail once, then trotted along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, in the direction of that murderous tree, and out of Edward's sight. This was the, what?

Third time now that he had seen that same dog? 'What is going on?' He turned quickly and pounded down the hall to catch up with the diminutive Charms teacher. "Wait! Flitwick!

Hold up!" The man obediently turned around and waited. "What is it, Elric dear boy? Did you want to help me put up the decorations?" He hefted the large box and dropped it into

Ed's hands, who staggered backwards under the unexpected load. "Good to see you getting into the Christmas Spirit! And that box was getting heavy. Come along." "Actually," Ed

began, shifting the box awkwardly from arm to arm as he walked. "I don't celebrate Christmas." "Jewish then?" "No, I'm not anything. I don't believe in God. But that's not the

point. This conversation has gotten way off track. What I originally intended was to ask if any of the staff members owns a dog?" Flitwick raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had

already met Fang." "I meant besides Hagrid." "No, none." "Any strays then?" "No. May I ask why?" Ed sighed. "No reason. This your room?" Ed maneuvered the door open with his

elbow and dropped the box onto the desk. "Thank you very much young man. If you were a student, you'd have won yourself some house points for your effort." The alchemist

gave a shrug and a smile. "I'm not a student, Flitwick. I don't get rewarded for doing good." The older teacher shook his head as his younger co-worker walked out, and began to

string up the lights. "What kind of kid doesn't celebrate Christmas?" He murmered.

______________

Harry stared down at his "early Christmas present", courtesy of Fred and George Weasely. Curly letters at the top of the yellowing parchment proclaimed: Messrs. Moony, Wormtail,

Padfoot, and Prongs: Purveyors of aids to magical mischief-makers, are proud to present The Mauraders Map. Beneath it, spidery lines drew out the Hogwarts grounds (complete

with seven secret passageways: 4 no longer secret thanks to a certain grouchy caretaker, one caved in, one placed directly under the deadly whomping willow, and one leading

straight to the cellar of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. This was the one Harry was meaning to take advantage of) . Carefully labeled ink dots showed where every person in the

school was. Harry's own dot showed him to be standing next to the staute of the one-eyed witch on the third floor. Tapping the the stone hag once and whispering "Dissendium"

opened the passage. No lack of permission slip was going to keep him from going to Hogsmeade with his friends now.

________________

"It's not fair! How come Fred and George never showed it to me! No offense Harry, but why'd they give it to you? I'm their brother!" "But Harry isn't going to keep it." Said

Hermione, as though the very idea was ludicrious. "He's going to turn it in to Professor McGonagall." "No, I'm not!" Harry said, cringing under the glare from Hermione. "But what

about Sirius Black? He could be using one of those passages on the map to be getting in and out of the castle! The teachers need to know!" "He can't be getting in that way. The

only one still usable is the one I just took inside Honeyduke's, and its not exactly like he could just walk through the door without being recognized." "You did." Hermione pointed

out. "That's different." Ron draped his arms over the shoulders of his two friends and began sterring them across the street. "Don't go ruining this glorious oportunity, 'Mione! Come

on. Lets's head over to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeers before we have to head back to the school. The bloody ministry gave the Dementors rights to patrol, well, more

like plague the streets after dark. Don't wanna be here when they show up. They're downright creepy." Hermione glanced over at Harry anxiously, then nodded her agreement.

__________

A few minutes later found them sipping hot and foamy butterbeers at a table near the back, brushing the last flecks of melting snow from their clothes and hair. It felt good to be

indoors. Just then the door opened, sending a wave of cold air into the room. Harry looked up to see who had entered and nearly choked on his drink. Both Ron and Hermione

pushed down on Harry's head, forcing him under the table as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, followed by Hagrid and the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge, walked

past. Who know what they would do if Harry was caught off of school grounds without permission. Fortunously, the group did not seem to notice the students and sat down at a

nearby table, a decorative Christmas tree blocking their view. All the same, Harry stayed crouched under the table. 'This isn't good. How long are they going to sit there? I need

time to sneak back to Honeyduke's if I want to make it back to the school before someone notices I'm missing!" The teachers' conversation drifted over to the three's table. "So,

what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madame Rosmerta's voice, the tavern's owner who had taken a seat with the others. The reply came after a moment of

hesistation, and then in a soft voice. "What else, my dear, but Sirius Black?" Harry's mind froze amidst generating several absurd escape plans. 'Maybe hearing this is worth the risk

after all.' But just at that moment, he saw a student sized figure in a rust colored cloak, the hood still up and snow still blanketing its shoulders, making its way toward his table.

'Great, just great. This is exactly what I needed.' Harry thought sarcastically, and nudged Ron's foot to get his attention, and pointed toward the approaching student. He heard a

groan in reply, and a whispered "Who is that anyway? It's Neville, isn't it? It's probably Neville. He always shows up just in time to ruin everything." "Ron!" That was Hermione's

voice. "Just when it was getting juicy." Ron finished. "He means well, Ron. It's not his fault we're always breaking the rules." The two visible members of the three tried to pretend

they hadn't seen him, but it was no use. Neville had seen them and was headed over anyway. And they could only hope he wouldn't notice or question what Harry was doing

under the table. The feet stopped about a foot from Harry's nose. "Hey, Neville." Hermione managed to get out. "we'd invite you to take a seat, but we're actually…" "Not Neville."

An all too familiar voice said. Gold eyes gleamed up at her from under the hood, following by a flash of white teeth spread in a grin. "But good try." Professor Elric sat down, ignoring

the shocked looks and sputtered protests. "But for the sake of things, let's pretend I am. Now shut up so I can hear this." McGonagall's sharp voice cut out through the air. "How

are we supposed to teach with those horror's floating around?" "You're spying on them?" Hermione hissed under her breathe. Edward glared at her, annoyed. "It must be obvious

to you that few of the staff particularily like me, and none of them trust me. Why should they? I'm just an ignorant upstart Amestrian heathen. I don't even use your stupid magic.

But just because they didn't invite me to their little secret sharing party doesn't mean I'm not entitled to that information." Hermione looked pretty pissed off. "What's to stop me

from marching over there right now and tell them what you're doing?" He just smiled and held up three gloved fingers. "One, because then it will become very obvious that you

were listening in as well. Two, Harry here (there was an "Ouch!" from under the table) doesn't have permission to leave schoolgrounds. And thirdly and finally, you want to know

just as much as I do. If you go and bust up this little party now, you never will. They really are stupid for holding such a cloak-and-dagger conversation in such a public place. If you

let them realize that, next time they'll know better." Hermione fell silent, hating that he was right. "That's much better. Stay quiet, butkeep your lips moving so no-one suspects."

"What's more suspicious is that you're still wearing your hood up." Ron murmered, but after Ed's noncommittal shrug, as if to say that it couldn't be helped, he fell silent too. By this

point, a lot of the conversation had been missed, so of course the next words heard came as a shock. "You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers! Inseperable!" That was

Flitwick. "Of course." Fudge replied. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then

they named him Godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea of course. You can image the idea would torment him." "Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?"

Whispered Madame Rosmerta. "Worse even than that, m'deear. You see…"

____________

And that was how Harry discovered that his parents had known the danger they were in, had cast a spell, the Fidelius Charm, that would make their whereabouts a secret to

Voldemort, even if he had been standing a foot away. He learned how Black was made the secret-keeper, and less than a week later, had shown his true colors, turning his back

on his supposed best friends in favor of the dark side of magic. And, apparently, the clincher was that not only did he turn the Potters in to their deaths, but he personally murdered

another of his and James's old school friends, a boy named Peter Pettigrew. All they ever found of him was a single finger.

_____________

"…I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark. There is no sense to them. But I was shocked at

how normal Black seemed. You'd have thought he was merely bored. Asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, so he could do the crossword puzzle. I was astounded by how little

effect the dementors seemed to be having on him. He was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, as well. Dementors outside his door every second of the day and night. We

hope to have him back there soon, but if dementors can't keep him locked away…we'll figure something out. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing, but give

him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again."

_________

There was a clink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their drink. "You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle." Said

Professor McGongall. There was a general agreement, and after the schreehcing of chairs sliding back, the pairs of feet in front of Harry made their way across the floor again. The

wind blew another flurry of snow through the now open door, before it closed solidly shut again. The teachers were gone.

_____________

"Wow." A certain alchemist whispered. Harry climbed back up onto his seat, and glared at the Defense Proffesor. This was not the least bit funny. But he was shocked to see that

the teenager wasn't looking cruelly or tauntingly at Harry. Instead he looked…sympathetic. It wasn't an emotion Harry thought the teacher capable of expressing. "I gotta say, I

wasn't expecting that. Tough break." Even more amazingly, the blonde actually seemed a little embarrassed by the curtness of his words, and tried to amend it by saying "…Listen,

I know what it's like to lose a parent. My mom. It really sucks. And my best friend, her parents, and they were practically my own, they were murdered. They were docters. The man

who did it was one of their patients. And…just recently… I met the guy who did it. Not in a court, but in an alley, where he tried to kill me too…The world's small like that…" He trailed

off, then added sharply "Don't go repeating that to anyone. Just…know it's ok to be angry, but don't do anything stupid. I mean that. And when you sneak back in to the school,

don't let me catch you doing it, either." His hood was starting to fall back a bit, so the blonde tugged it forward again until his face was entirely in shadow, then got up and left the

tavern. The three students were left sppechless at the table. None of them quite knew what shocked them more, the revelation behind Black, or Elric's sudden outpouring. Either

way, it left them a lot to think about.

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aw jeez, it looked a lot longer on notebook paper. sooorrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. anyway, THIS FIC HAS HAD LIKE A TOTAL ZERO OF ALCHEMY SO FAR!!! IMMMSOOORRRRRRRYYYYY!!!! i need to do that, real soon. something big, i promise. and that last bit was supposed to be sum harry and the gang bonding time with Ed, cause i realized i cant have them hate each other the entire fic long. but yeah...review please if you liked it, or review about the parts you didnt like. but please dont be mean. :( ummmm....guess thats it. p.s I BOUGHT THE SECOND PROFESSOR LAYTON GAME: THE DIABOLICAL BOX!!!!!! IM SOOOOOO HAPPPYYYY!!!!! and i officially have a fetish for guys in top hats: Layton, Frederic in Eternal Sonata, Ticky Mick from D. Grayman, the list goes on. thier even sexier than eyepatches!!!!! woot!!!! k bye will post more later when i get to it. OH YEAH!!!!! I JUST REMEMBERED I WANTED TO SAY THE REASONS POSTS WILL ALLLLWWWWAYYYYYSSSSS BE SLOW, OR IN BURSTS, IS CAUSE I LOST MY COPY OF THE BOOK, SO I HAVE TO USE THE LIBRARY'S, WHICH MEANS I KEEP HAVINGG TO RETURN IT, CAUSE THEY ONLY LET YOU RENEW IT ONCE.....


	8. Chapter 8

Hello. I know it's been a billion trillion years since I last updated. Sorry. I've been really insanely busy lately. And yeah...anyway, next chapter, tada!!!! ect. ect. Forgive me and review!!! it helps remind me that I have a story I should probably get back too! And, just thought I'd inform you that I recently aquired the rights to FMA and Harry Potter. In a dream. O.K., not really. But one day, maybe someday soon, business transactions made in dreams will be legally binding...something to think about. REVIEW!!! 3

p.s let me know when the format gets reasonable. I know everyone hates it, I certainly get enough reviews about it, but this stupid program hates me...always changing what i've fixed behind my back...so yeah, let me know when it's o.k, so i know to keep it like that, or watever.

p.s.s a large portion of the dialogue came straight out of the book, although I may have tweaked it a bit. Just giving credit where credit is due, I suppose. (but not all of it, obviously. by which i mean not all of the dialogue is not created by moi, Irken Invader)

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While Edward was busily crafting an extended report to Mustang, marked URGENT and CONFIDENTIAL in bold red Amestrian script, a certain black haired student was blindly stumbling his way through the tunnel under Honeydukes. His body was on autopilot as it led him back into the halls and joined the stream of students. His mind was still reeling too hard to concentrate on anything besides one sentence. Why had nobody ever told him! Everyone he had trusted: Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, they all must have known. Hell, even Snape had never let it slip, even as ammo against his least favorite student. Angry tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he sat shell-shocked and steaming in the dining hall, trying to act as if his entire world hadn't been turned upside down. How dare they keep him in the dark about the fact that his parents had died because their best friend had betrayed them!Ron and Hermione, and even Edward, although more surreptitiously from the Professors table, watched Harry's black mood nervously all through dinner, but the Gryffindors didn't try to bring the subject up until they were in private.

Unfortunately, immediately after dinner, Harry left without his two best friends and headed straight to his dorm. After digging around for several minutes, he eventually found what he was looking for. The leather-bound moving-photo album Hagrid had given him two years previous, full end to end of pictures of his parents, alive and happy, laughing and smiling. Things he would never see them do outside of these pages thanks to one Sirius Black.

He skipped through to the page of his parents' wedding day. And…there he was. The best man. Harry had never given him a thought before, never really wondered about who he was. For all that Harry craved his parents alive again, he realized unhappily that he had never made much of an effort to know them. Never found out what their personalities were like, who their friends were, how they met, their days at Hogwarts. He had never imagined them living any life outside having him, or what his own life might have been like had they never perished…He guiltily shook that thought from his head and went back to the photograph.

If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed it was Black in this old photograph. His face wasn't sunken and grey, but handsome and full of laughter. Had he already been working for Voldemort when this was taken? Could this man, so happy and full of life, really have been plotting the death of the young couple beside him? It mattered not when he made the decision. All that mattered was that he had done it. Harry slammed the book shut, then crawled into bed, shutting the bed curtains around him. He stared at the dark ceiling, ignoring Ron's hesitant "Harry? Are you okay? Are you awake?" until the Weasley reluctantly left, the entire time picturing in his mind over and over, that man, that despicable man kneeling at Voldemort's feet, laughing as he announced that he was at last made the Potters' secret keeper.

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Edward had seen that wretched black dog again, lingering tauntingly under the windows by Gryffindor tower, when he was taking a morning walk through the grounds. No one else was about. It was still early in the morning, and besides that was the first day of winter break. Nearly all of the students had returned home. Ed had hoped he would be among them; he missed Amestris: Al, Winry, and although he'd never admit it, even Mustang and the others. But apparently, teachers weren't given the same leave.

The dog didn't notice him until Ed was almost right upon him, but as ninja like as he tried to be, the crunching of his boots through the thin layer of ice covering the snow banks gave him away. Normally, the dog seemed curious of Edward, and gave off a mocking air when it ran off, but today it seemed annoyed by the alchemist's continual interruptions of…whatever it was doing. Just more proof that this wasn't any ordinary stray. Normal dogs didn't have secret agendas to be annoyed about missing.

Ed understood its sentiment. He was getting fed up with the routine as well. "That's why this ends today!" Ed announced grinning as the dog took off towards the forbidden forest, as per usual. For such an *ahem* short person, the blonde professor could usually run amazingly fast. Certainly fast enough to catch up to a mangy mutt. But under the circumstances, the black hound was much better built for running through the snow. Ed kept it up for a good several minutes, before finally clapping his hands and sending up a wall of hard packed snow and ice. The dog had picked up too much speed and couldn't stop in time, whimpering as its claws skittered uselessly across the slick surface before it yelped in pain as it crashed hard into the wall. "Ha. Serves you right." Ed announced loudly, although he didn't really mean it. He could hear Al lecturing him in his head about animal cruelty. The animal stood up shakily and glared at Ed. As the blonde began to walk towards it, it amazingly began to walk towards him. Stopping a few feet away, it twisted its head slightly to take another look at the ice wall behind it, and when it looked back at Ed it was with appraising eyes. Those eyes made the alchemist gasp and step back a pace. They were human eyes, intelligence gleaming in the dark orbs. The thing barked a laugh, then used his momentary distraction to turn around and sprint back at the wall, this time running even harder and faster than before. At the very last second, it leaped. There was a decent amount of snow on the ground, but apparently the wall Ed had created still hadn't been high enough. The beast landed on the top foot with a blow that knocked the air out of its lungs, but managed to somehow drag itself over with a lot of inelegant kicking that kind of destroyed the cool exit the dog had obviously hoped for. Not that it mattered, because by the time Edward had deconstructed the wall again, the creature was gone.

______

The blonde alchemist threw himself into researching what the dog could be with reckless abandon. The first thing to pop into his mind was human-chimera hybrid, but he knew he couldn't blame every strange creature he came across in this strange new magic driven country as the product of some twisted alchemy. The animal was physically much too obviously, well, just a dog, to have any other creature's dna mixed in. In fact, those human eyes were part of the reason why Edward eventually dismissed the human-chimera hybrid theory. The various human-chimera hybrids he had meet were either failed experiments, like poor Nina, where the creature was physically that of an animal, albeit a strangely misshapen one, with extremely watered down human instincts and intelligence. Much of the human personality was lost, and only a few small memories remained. The other type was those he had meet working for Greed, claiming to have been secret experiments of the military. These were mostly human in appearance, with vaguely feral features, and retained all of their memories, personality, and intelligence, as well as gained abilities pertaining to the animal with which they had been fused with, such as heightened senses, strength, speed, and flexibility. They were more superhumans than they were monstrosities.

This had been neither. It seemed to be a human intelligence and personality, just in the body of a dog. It made no sense, and when something around here made no sense, the answer was usually "It's magic". The red coated figure glared at the paw prints in the snow, breathed on his icy fingers, and then trudged back to the library. He recalled some useful books on magical creatures and morphology in the restricted section. He grinned. For once, being a teacher finally made sense. He became a state alchemist to get access to the state's restricted libraries. Now that he was forced to become a teacher, he was going to abuse that same privilege for all that it was worth.

_____

"You really don't look well, you know." Hermione said, peering anxiously into Harry's face. "I'm fine." Said Harry. "Just…listen, okay? Me and Ron, we've been talking. And well…" Hermione exchanged a look with the redhead, and then continued "We know you must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid." "Like what?" Harry asked, only vaguely listening to his concerned friends. "Like trying to go after Black." Ron said sharply. "Dad must have been worried you would find out, which is why he made you promise not to go after him when he dropped us off at the station. Even Professor Elric told you not to do anything stupid." Harry could tell they had rehearsed this conversation. He didn't feel like playing along, so he said nothing. "You won't, will you Harry? If not for either of them, for us." Hermione pleaded. Ron added "And because Black's not worth dying for." "But revenge just might be." Harry said.

They just didn't seem to understand. So he told them so. "Every single time a dementor gets near me, I can hear her screaming. My mum. And I can hear her pleading with Voldemort. I can hear him too, laughing. It's not something you can just forget. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of your mom betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her," "But there's nothing you can do!" Hermione interrupted. "The dementors will catch him, and take him back to Azkaban," "You heard Fudge the other night as well as me. The dementors didn't affect him. There's really only one punishment left for someone like that." "So what are you going to do? Kill him? You?" Ron spat angrily. "I know we've had luck in the past, but this is different. When Black was done with Pettigrew, all that was left was a single finger. That's what his mother got back of him. Honorary Order of Merlin, First Class, and that finger in a box. This guy is a madman, Harry, and he is too fecking dangerous for you to go off looking for him." "Your parents wouldn't want this, Harry." Hermione said softly. "But we'll never know what they wanted, will we? Because they're dead." "Look, Harry. It's the holidays, and like it or not, we're going to have fun. How about we visit Hagrid? We haven't seen him in ages." Ron said, trying to change the subject to a less depressing one that wouldn't end in a fight. It didn't work the way he planned, because Harry agreed with a "Let's. Then he can explain why, all this time, he never me the truth about why my parents were killed!" And after that, there was no changing his mind.

_____

Ed had made the dreaded trip down to the groundskeeper's hut in expectation of performing a critical interrogation about what the man might know about that strange dog. He just couldn't leave the subject alone, and when the young state alchemist committed himself to something, be it a mission for the state or merely some personal endeavor, he threw himself into it whole heartedly. The alchemist had his suspicions, thanks to an amazingly informative book that he had found in the restricted section of the school's quite extensive library. But before he acted on them, he wanted first to eliminate for certain the other possible options. The half-giant was the teacher for care of magical creatures, and besides that lived nearly at the border of the forest that housed many such creatures, and was the portal through which the dog usually made his escape; although in reality, Edward had his reasons to doubt the thing actually lived there. More likely it was just using the dense forest as an escape route from Ed, and was doubling back once the coast was clear. Either way, as much as Ed couldn't stand to be around the obtuse man, he had to admit that Hagrid would be the most authoritative source on the subject. Books could only take you so far. He knew the giant was just too insanely trusting and friendly to everyone to catch on to the fact that Edward didn't _like_ having his abnormally short stature commented on every time the two met, or being chased around and slobbered on by the groundskeeper's enormous hellhound, or a million of the man's other personality traits, and by default, him. But he still wasn't expecting this. And what choice did he have but to comfort the poor man?

"Buckbeak'd never hurt a fly!" The man sobbed. Ed patted him awkwardly on the back, while keeping a cautious eye on the hippogriff lying on some straw in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor. Now probably wasn't the best time to mention that the reason the hippogriff was scheduled for disposal was because he had indeed hurt someone, even if it was only a whiny rich brat. Especially because it was a whiny rich brat. "I couldn't leave him tied up out there in the snow!" Hagrid choked out. "All on his own! At Christmas time!" "Well, can't you just tell the council what happened? I mean, I wasn't there, but didn't the kid provoke it? I mean, you specifically tell everyone that you gotta bow to the thing first right?" Ed hazarded, unconsciously picking at the sleeve covering his automail. "And Malfoy didn't, so really his claim is rather shaky." "It won't make any difference! They're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. Scared of him, they are. They'll do whatever he says!"

Ed really wasn't good at comforting people, and this wasn't quite the same situation as convincing Al they couldn't keep the latest stray cat he had picked up. Thankfully, there came a knocking at the door. Maybe this new person would do a better job. He recognized the voice that came muffled through the thick door as that one red-haired kid, one of the Weasleys. "Hagrid? Are you in there?" The man lumbered to his feet, and still sobbing, dragged himself to the door and threw it open, crushing the three students in a bear hug reminiscent of Armstrong's. "You heard then?" He bellowed. Ed pulled Hagrid off the kids, and dumped him back in his chair. The bushy-haired chick, Hermione, walked in briskly, looking upset. "Hagrid? Professor Elric? What's going on?" Silently Edward held out the letter Hagrid had received that morning.

Dear Mr. Hagrid,

Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident. However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.

Yours in fellowship…

Then there was a really long list of important looking names. All she could muster was an "Oh."

It seemed that just like Ed had abandoned his quest to grill the huge man about the black dog, neither could Harry really find it in his heart to question him about his parents, not when Hagrid was in this state. They spent the rest of the evening comforting him. Ed hung awkwardly back against the wall, occasionally trying to surreptitiously shake off the hippogriff when it snapped at him from its position on the floor, before sneaking off. The trip to Hagrid's, though far from fun, had at least accomplished the effect Ron and Hermione hoped for by distracting Harry from his revenge on Black by refocusing his efforts into trying to find a way to help Hagrid win his case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.

_____

Edward woke up with a groan. He had been up into the early hours of the morning researching, and he obviously hadn't slept long at all as he could see the edges of the sky only just beginning to lighten with still no sign of the sun that must be approaching through the window of his room. But it was worth it, because he was finally convinced he knew exactly what the black dog was. Mystery solved. He grinned. When he put his mind to it, nothing escaped him for long. Then he frowned. There was something else. He knew what the dog was, but there was still the matter of wh…

'There really is only one reasonable possibility, isn't there.' Ed thought, horror filling him. 'This is just too damn crazy to be true…' He brushed his fingers through his hair, rapidly redoing up his braid, and slipped on his coat. He had never actually changed out of his clothes from the night before, so no problem with that. He rapidly made his way down the halls, flying up a set of stairs to Gryffindor tower. The likelihood was absurd, and it had nothing to do with him whatsoever, but all the same. He just needed…to check. That was all. 'I don't know why I'm doing this. I'm not going to find anything. There will be other times and places to prove my theory, but as for this time and place I should still be in bed asleep.' These were the thoughts running through his head as he turned the corner, and saw the large black dog slipping out of the portrait passageway to the Gryffindor common room not having yet seen the young professor and looking altogether much too pleased with itself.

_____

"Wow! A real Firebolt! Just like the one in the window in Diagon Alley! Who sent you that?" Ron asked in an awed voice. "I dunno. Maybe I missed the card." Ron ripped through the Firebolt's wrappings. "Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you? I bet it was Dumbledore! He sent you that invisibility cloak anonymously…" "But that was my dad's, so Dumbledore was really just passing it on to me. It wasn't a gift. He wouldn't go spending hundreds of Galleons on a student…" "Well, that's probably why it's anonymous. So some git like Malfoy doesn't say it's favoritism! Hah! Bet Malfoy will be green with envy when he sees this broom! It's an international standard!"

"I can't believe this," Harry murmered, running a hand along the length of the broom. "Who could have sent this?" The thought was repeated moments later as Hermione made her way down the stairs from the girls' dormitory, dropping her cat and staring openmouthed at the gift on Harry's lap. "I don't know who." Harry told her. "There was no card." To his surprise and a little annoyance, Hermione didn't seem happy for him, or even excited at all. Instead, a worried look came over her face, and she bit her lip. After a moment, she spoke up, "I don't know…it's a bit odd, isn't it? This is supposed to be a good broom right?" "The best broom." Ron interjected. "Well, who'd send Harry something as expensive as that, and then not even tell him they'd sent it?" "Who cares? I wanna ride it, Harry! Let me have a go!" Ron announced impatiently. "No!" Hermione exclaimed loudly. When the two boys looked at her, she blushed and look down. "It's…just suspicious is all. I mean…there's just as many people who don't like you as there are those who think you're a hero." Harry stood up, wrapping his fingers around the handle of the broom defensively. "I mean…I think we should get the broom checked out…you know, for spells. It could be a trap." Ron blinked slowly, before asking "You think someone from a different team sent Harry a defective broom to trip him up?" "No, you dunderhead! I think the one who sent the broom was Sirius Black!"

The silence in the room was defeaning after Hermione's shocking, and loud, exclamation. Finally Harry spoke up. "That's…that's ridiculous Hermione. You're being ridiculous. Why would Black send me a Firebolt, a Firebolt Hermione, if he's trying to kill me?" The girl was pratically tearing up now, but out of hurt or frustration he didn't know. "Weren't you listening to me? This isn't the first time you've nearly died on the Quidditch field! He spelled the broom to drop you, or smash you into the stands, or I don't even know, and he didn't leave a note so you wouldn't suspect!" Harry hesitated for a moment, considered Hermione's logic, and blocking out Ron's pleading don't-let-Hermione-mess-up-our-chances-of-winning-the-Cup gaze, he eventually stated, "Black would have had to have gotten into the tower again to drop off this gift. And if he was in the common room, there really wouldn't be any reason to let a broom kill me later when he had the chance to do it himself right then. But…there's only one way to know." Harry got up, and made his way upstairs to the chest at the foot of his bed. When he made his way back, he was carrying the Maurader's map.

"It's still pretty earlier in the morning, and Black must be camping out nearby, so there's a chance we only just missed him and that he's still on the school grounds. And if he is, then he'll show up on the map." Hermione hesistated, then nodded. Both she and Ron gathered around Harry, and watched silent as he unrolled the length of parchment and murmered the spell. The thin, black, spidery lines instantly grew outward from the center of the map. It didn't take long to search. Most of the school had cleared out for the Christmas season, and only the teachers, and few enough students to count on your hands remained. Ron noticibly sighed with relief when he realized the school was empty of the madman. Hermione's own fear seemed to have rubbed off on him slightly, no matter how much he may have protested. Harry, hearing the relieved sigh, made to tap the map, effectively turning it blank once more, before Hermione whispered "Wait. What's that?" With a trembling finger she pointed out past the school and onto the outer grounds. Specifically, at the lake. And dead center, were two dots. One labeled _Sirius Black_, and the other _Edward Elric, Fullmetal_.

"That bloody traitor! I knew he was off his rocker! He's been a spy, this whole time, working for Black!" Ron growled angrily. Hermione bit her lip, but raised her chin and glared definantly back at her friend. "There's no proof that Professor Elric has been sided with Black. He is a teacher and it's his job to protect us! If he's out there with Black, he must be fighting him. He's in danger!" Harry didn't know what to think. He certainly didn't like the young foreigner, but his malicious opinion of him was unbalanced by that sincere confession of sympathy in the Three Broomsticks. Even from the start he had never considered the man capable of the evil of the Deatheaters. "In either case, we need to let Dumbledore know about this." Harry said. He ran upstairs and hid the map once again, and pulled on his robe over his pajamas. "We'll tell him we saw them looking out the window." Ron and Hermione grabbed their robes as well, and then the Golden Trio made their way quickly through the halls of Hogwarts.

_____

Ed stood his ground, staying careful to keep his balance on the ice of the lake's surface. The chase had left him breathing slightly heavy, but he was in nowhere near as bad condition as the man facing opposite him, who so recently had held the form of a dog. His straggly black hair was slicked against his face, and his chest moving rapidly up and down was evident from where the alchemist stood. One of his arms dripped blood, dark and steaming onto the ice, from where Edward had managed to nick him earlier. "For the last time, I'm telling you! I didn't kill the boy!" "Then what were you doing in the dorms?" Ed growled, suspicion loud and clear in his voice. "You've been lurking around for a long time, and I can't say there's anything more suspicious. This _whole _animagus affair just reeks of black deeds and hiding in the shadows. I may not be from around here, I may not be trusted, but I've heard the rumors. I've investigated. And this silver pocket watch wasn't given to me without good reason." The black haired man didn't seem to quite understand what Ed's last few sentances implied, but just the same he seemed frustrated, and the slightest bit frightened. 'This kid isn't like the other students. He knows how to fight. And I've never seen anything like his magic before.' Aloud, he said "I wasn't there to kill the boy, I swear it! _He's_ not the bloody _rat_ who wronged me! I was only deliv…you wouldn't understand my intentions behind it, but they were good!" The man pleaded, glancing nervously at the short, flat blade attached to the blonde's arm. When Ed only shook his head, and clapped his hands together, blue electricity crackling, the man's gaze hardened, and he lifted his wand, shouting curses (of both the magical nature and the ordinary kind).

The lithe young alchemist evaded the majority of them, closing in on the convict fast, but just mere feet away he was hit by a particularly strong one dead center and was sent flying backward hard, winded as if he had been kicked in the chest by a rearing horse. He managed to twist himself enough to give a little push off the ground with his hands, but the ice was slick and he hit the ground hard, slidding several yards before going into a roll and bring himself to a standing postion. Almost immediately, he cringed, and clutched his flesh leg. Blood dotted his hand through the material of his pants from where the skin had been scrapped raw. The convict looked on, his expression confusing to decifer. "I don't want to fight you if I don't have to. Had we met under better conditions, I can honestly say I would have liked to get to know you better. I have something I need to do, wrongs I need to right, so we will probably meet again. But for right now, I just want to get away. You're injured. You'll have to give me that at least." The man turned and shifted back into his four pawed self, and began to trot briskly across the ice, away from Ed. "Oh no you don't! Not until I get some answers!" The blonde exclaimed vehemonently. He raced forward once again, with a slight limp, and clapped his hands together and slammed them down onto the ground. His triumphant smirk turned into one of horror as the thinner ice beneath him cracked under the forth of his weight and his alchemy.

With a shout he fell through, desperately clawing at the edges of the ice to pull himself back up. The black dog heard his desperate shout, and turning saw him struggling in the icy water. With a loud bark, the dog raced back to Edward, shifting once again into a human as he reached his side. Kneeling onto the ground, he first made the mistake of grabbing the now frosted over automail arm, (the blade retracted earlier) and let go with a yelp of pain of surprise. The metal was too cold to touch. Grabbing Ed by the other arm, he began pulling the alchemist back onto the ice, but was having difficulty doing so due to the weight of the automail limbs and the thick water logged clothing. Ed finally managed, with Sirius's help, to drag the upper portion of his body onto the lip of the ice, only to have it collapse under him once more. Just then a distant shout was heard.

Running across the field towards them were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professors McGonagoll, Snape, and Lupin, with Dumbledore in the lead. "Hurry! He's pushing him in!" Someone exclaimed, although it was hard to tell who. Black stopped to stare at the rapidly approaching figures, the panic on his face very clear. It was mirrored by Edward himself. "Please, don't let go. I can't swim." Asking for help was a very un-Ed-like thing to do, but his own death was staring him in the face and he couldn't stop the fear from rising up in him, the panic from strangling his voice, or the tears from forming in his eyes. "Your friends will be here any second. I can't be caught now, at any cost. Please, you'll just have to keep your head above water for another minute." The man gripped Ed's hand tightly, then with one last desperate look towards the approaching teachers and one last look asking for forgiveness from Edward, he ran as hard as his legs could carry him, this time staying in human form to keep his secret for however much longer it would last. "No! You don't understand! I literally can't swim! I'll drown!" Edward shouted, thrashing desperately in the water.

'He's wrong.' Edward thought, as he sank beneath the black water. 'They won't make it in time.' The obstacle course of walls and cages and giant hands of snow and ice and earth that Ed had created during the chase were blocking their path and prolonging their reaching him. 'How ironic. They won't make it in time, and it will be my own fault.'

______

so, yeah, don't worry, Ed's gonna be fine. He's gonna be all like...gurgle choke gurple swish swish clap hissss ploooop booyay!!!! try 'n figure THAT one out! ummm....yeah, i feel really lame cause this entire story so far has pretty much been Ed inserted into the third book. I guess i'm just not that creative...*sigh* anyway, I'll make a lot of really more alchemy in the next chapter.

And finally, it's time to play my sympathy card!!!! I went skiing recently, and (i really really mean it when i say i'm, if not fantastic, a better than decent skier. We usually go 2-3 times every winter.) but, I major epically wiped out, and totally crashed my knee. I was pretty much incapable of walking for about 2 or 3 days, and stairs still present a little difficulty, even more than a week later. I don't know how i'm gonna manage my gymnastics final...feeling significantly sorry for me yet? Am i forgiven for my lateness in updating? Will i get lots of lovely reviews?

I 3 ya's all!!! Depuis prochaine fois!!! (i really need to practive my french...i mean...je besoin practicer (?) parle francaise...je pense que c'est la vrai *wording* ...

p....WHY DOES IT ALWAYS LOOK SO MUCH LONGER IN MY NOTEBOOK THAN IT DOES ON THE COMPUTER!!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

I am quite honestly suprised that I have still been getting somewhat consistent reviews and favs in the last...*checks calendar* 9 plus months I haven't updated this. So, wow. Thanks. Here ya go. ;)

EDITED BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE TAKE WHAT MOLECULES MAKE UP THIER WATER SO SERIOUSLY

* * *

Water appears blue because the darker end of the color spectrum has the longest wavelengths. The wavelengths of colors like red, orange, and yellow are too short to penetrate water. This is also why beaches usually have green or light blue water, while in the open ocean, where the water is thousands of fathoms deep, it appears to be dark blue, or even indigo. The water Edward was falling through was black.

* * *

In the years before a letter delivered by owl had changed his life, Harry had, like most children, gone to an ordinary school. One day the school had herded all the students into the auditorium for an assembly, one of the few times all the different grades ever interacted with each other. A paramedic had come to give a presentation. One of the things he had talked about was what to do if someone fell through the ice of a frozen lake. A lot of the kids went ice skating with their families in the winter, so it was a real danger. Harry had never been ice skating. It required a little too much physical exertion to be appealing to the Dursleys, and even if they had made a try of it, Harry knew he wouldn't be invited to go along. He hadn't paid much attention, instead his face turned upwards, distracted by the one light in any auditorium that never stops flickering.

It was this memory, something that seemed so insignificant at the time, which came to Harry now. He had forgotten all about it until this very moment. He vaguely remembered a voice and brief glimpses of a green or blue uniform, saying something about lying on your stomach to distribute your weight. If it was too dangerous to get too close, to throw a rope or something the victim could use to pull themselves out. Just like they do in the movies when the brave adventurer has to save his girlfriend from quicksand. But the teacher was not his girlfriend. For all his victories over Voldemort, Harry still wasn't Indiana Jones. And this didn't look like it was going to have a happy ending. If the man had mentioned any way to save someone who had already slipped below the surface, beyond the reach of grasping hands and ropes, it was not coming back to him.

McGonagall had already used the accio charm to summon a weighted rope, and dropped it down into the water. If the professor was still conscious, he might be able to grab onto it. Meanwhile, Dumbledore was speaking with some sort of…creature. It had grey skin and bloodshot yellow eyes. And really scary teeth. "It's a merperson." Hermione whispered in Harry's ear, frightened. "I guess Dumbledore must be asking them to help." The creature replied with an awful screeching noise that had all three students slamming their hands over their ears, and a noticeable wince from the teachers. Only Dumbledore seemed to not mind. "Your help will not go unrewarded." Dumbledore solemnly replied. The creature gave a wary nod before diving back under the dark water. "So what do we do now?" asked Ron. "Wait" came the reply.

* * *

Ed's lungs felt tight, and burned inside him, the searing pain flashing up his throat. His head felt light, and his vision was beginning to go black around the edges, but not before he saw a swarm of nightmarish creatures swimming towards him. 'If man had evolved to live in the sea, perhaps that is what we would look like…' mused the scientist side of the teenager, before the reality of what he saw before him checked in. He startled in panic, very nearly opening his mouth and dooming himself. He wasn't sure which fate was worse: drowning, or being torn limb from limb by creatures who by all the rules he'd ever known before coming here, shouldn't exist.

All the odds were against him, but no one could ever say the Fullmetal Alchemist went down without a fight. He somehow managed to bring his hands together to create the sword out of the top plate of his automail, and began to swing it at the creatures drawing near him. They dodged easily, more adapted to move through water. They edged toward him again, hissing and reaching out with their grotesque hands to grab his flailing limbs. He managed to kick one in the face, and slice another's arm. They couldn't avoid him every time if they wanted to get close. The strangely humanoid fish creatures grew enraged, and made another pass at him. Ed grew more furious in his attacks. He knew his air wouldn't last much longer, and he planned to wound as many as he could before that happened. After slicing one across the face, blinding it, one creature, the leader of the group, screamed in rage. In a surprising musical language, but nevertheless indecipherable to the Amestrian, the creature sang something that even he could recognize as full of venom and probably a good deal of swears. After what was probably one of those ancient curses that promised something horrible would happen to him and several generations of his children, the swarm of monsters swam off.

The alchemist was briefly relieved before coming to the conclusion that he was doomed anyway. He couldn't even leave any heirs behind to blame him for their cursed status. The exertion of the battle had left him unable to hold his breathe any longer. He would have to breathe in, and let the water flood his lungs. That he had been able to last this long in freezing water and not succumb was a miracle. And then he noticed the trail of bubbles left behind by the passage of the strange creatures.

* * *

The group waiting on the ice had begun to give up hope when they felt a rumble under their feet. A horrible look of understanding lit the headmaster's face as he rose to his feet and shouted "Quick! Get off the ice!" Startled, the other members of the group looked up, and then began to run as fast as they could. They had not made it back to land, but where thankfully out of range when the ice cracked open with a sound none of them would ever forget, and exploded. A rush of air erupted out of the hole, now nearly ten times the size it had been when Edward had fallen through, as ice shards began to rain down on the group. It was immediately followed by a sloshing thunderclap. A moment of silence, and then the explosion of air and thunderclap happened again. "What's happening?" McGonagall yelled. Hermione's face scrunched up in concentration before it lit up in comprehension. "It's hydrogen!" She shouted excitedly. "It's a cloud of hydrogen!" "It means" Dumbledore said delightedly, "that our resident alchemist has found a new supply of oxygen! He's breaking apart the atoms in the water, separating the hydrogen from the oxygen." Harry and Ron stared, not understanding a word, but Hermione nodded excitedly. "But we must hurry. He'll only get one breathe in each time before the surrounding water rushes in to fill the displacement. And I don't think our lake could take too many transmutations." "Doubtless he's already half dead of hypothermia" Snape cut in, his usual dour self, although apparently the idea of someone dying didn't appeal to even him. "Then we'd best rescue him now." McGonagall agreed.

* * *

Even with the burning in his chest somewhat relieved, Edward knew it was still no use. He was stuck on the muddy bottom of lake, incapabe of propelling himself to the surface. The water was too cold. He couldn't move his real limbs anymore. He couldn't even feel his fingers. The pressure had already popped his eyedrums enough that he thought they might have burst. He was dying. But just ahead, he could see a rope. He would have sighed, if he could. 'I must be hallucinating.' The rope was swimming downward, the tip twitching and turning like the head of a snake scenting the air. Nevertheless, with the last of his strength, he reached out. His fingers failed to respond as he told them to grip. Ed's world faded to black. So he did not notice as the charmed rope looped around his hand as it brushed the twined fibers, then again around his waist, and having found what it was looking for, began to rapidly retract upwards.

* * *

author's note: I realize it probably wouldn't really work that way, but I think I've mentioned before that physics, or chemistry for that matter, is not my strong suit. Also, I figure, I'm writing a story about an alchemist, set in a magic school, so science is going to do whatever the hell I tell it to do.


End file.
